Lily and James
by Silverbelle98
Summary: Lily despises James and his immaturity; he loves her. Sirius decides that they need a plan to get Lily to like James, if only to stop James from constantly mooning over her. But outside the castle walls, Lord Voldemort is rising...
1. Plan

"JAMES POTTER! I am going to KILL you!"

James hurtled down the corridor as a slender girl chased him, brandishing her wand threateningly. She screamed obscenities after him as he frantically pushed past laughing students. He turned a corner and barely managed to duck into a small crevice before the fiery figure of Lily Evans flew around the corner as well, spitting mad and green haired.

"POTTER!" she bellowed. "It will be worse for you if you don't come out NOW!"

Choking back laughter, James watched as Lily turned the corner, brilliantly green hair whipping behind her. A second later the head of his best mate, Sirius, popped out from behind him.  
"Argh! Sirius?" he said incredulously as the handsome boy pulled the cloak off him.

"The one and only," he said with a smirk. Another boy seemed to sprout from the ground, one with light brown hair and sweet blue eyes – only at the moment he didn't look sweet at all.

"We couldn't miss the chance to see Evans castrate you," Peter said, grinning furiously. James puffed out his chest.

"She'd never do that. She loves me far too much."

Sirius listened to Lily's distant shrieks. "You know mate, I reckon you shouldn't have turned her hair green and insulted her," he said seriously.

"I told her it matches her gorgeous eyes! I thought she'd be flattered!"

Peter and Sirius shook their heads condescendingly and slowly. "Honestly," muttered Peter.

"You haven't a clue how to seduce girls, do you," Sirius said, slinging a casual arm around James' shoulders.

"Like you do," James muttered, shrugging his arm off. Sirius clutched a hand to his chest and feigned collapsing; only barely avoiding hitting his head on the wall.

"James! You have mortally wounded me! My heart may never heal!" he sprang to his feet after a second, letting out a yelp. "Yuck! There's water on the ground!"

"You're recovering pretty fast for someone mortally wounded," James said sourly, poking his head out of their hiding spot and searching for Lily. Sirius grabbed his arm and hauled him back in.

"But seriously, mate!" Sirius said earnestly. "And if you make that pun, I'll tell Lily you're the one who stole her pants," he added hastily at the look on James' face.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

James glared at him for a second. "Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms. "What do you want, anyhow, Pads?"

"I have a plan," Sirius announced dramatically. "A plan to seduce Lily Evans!"

The two boys stared at him for a moment before sharing looks that plainly said 'he's mad.'

"You're kidding, right?" Peter said after a moment. "Your idea of seduction is leaping on the table in the Great Hall and asking the girl to go out with you, and only after attacking her boyfriend and setting his hair on fire."

"Peter," Sirius said with a shake of his head. "Peter, Peter, Peter… that was a long time ago. I was immature then. I am now far more brilliant and genius."

"Stop saying my name," Peter said, lightly shoving him. "And you haven't the faintest about Lily Evans."

"Oh, and you do?"

"More than you do!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, I-

"Shut up!" James hissed, once again for Lily, who they could hear stomping around outside.

"Anyhow, Jamesiepoo-" Sirius started, recovering from his short loss of dignity.

"Don't call me that-"

"_Anyhow_," Sirius said forcefully. "You-"he shoved a finger into James' chest. "-need a plan for Lily that doesn't involve turning her hair green and using cheesy pickup lines."

"Cheesy? _Cheesy?_ You're the one who _suggested_ that… that _one_ that made her hex me!"

"I didn't think you'd be so thick as to go and actually _do_ it!" Sirius said defensively. He lowered his voice with an arrogant little smirk. The other two unconsciously leaned closer, looking interested against their wills. "We need a plan to seduce Lily Evans."

* * *

Lily stalked back and forth across the dormitory. "And then," she raged. "He turned to me and told me it suited me!" she kicked a book across the room and then hopped around for a moment, clutching her foot. The pain did nothing to improve her disposition.

Marlene McKinnon watched her in amusement, reclining back on her bed. The pretty brunette sighed and leaned forward. "I know James is despicable. I know he's nasty and immature and a whole load of other things. I know that, in your eyes, he's the worst thing ever. And for the last time, I _know_ he turned your hair green!"

It had been two days since the infamous incident in the Great Hall, and Lily was still absolutely furious. "Then he told me that he hoped I liked the colour green, because it was going to stay like that! I can't believe he hexed me and turned my hair green."

"Are you sure he didn't hex you to not shut up about the incident?" Marlene muttered as Lily stomped across the room.

The red-head didn't seem to hear her.

"I hate him!" she cried, collapsing onto her bed. "I hate him so much! Stupid James Potter and his stupid arrogance." After a minute or two, she subsided into muttering into her pillow. Marlene caught occasional words that sounded suspiciously like 'Potter' and 'stupid'.

"Well, when you're done talking to your pillow like a nutter, let's go to breakfast. We're going to be late for it and classes if you don't stop sulking," Marlene said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Oh Merlin," Lily wailed. "Is it really that late?" she sat up and made a frantic attempt for the window, only to fall and land on her face. She lay there for a moment, groaning in pain.

"Come on," Marlene said, lightly kicking at her. "We're going to be late."

"I hate my life," Lily moaned at the ground. Marlene grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Stop whining and come on. McGonagall will do her nut if you miss Transfiguration again," Marlene said, pulling Lily to the door and down the stairs.

"I hate you, you know that?" Lily said as Marlene dragged her in the direction of the Great Hall.

"It's good to see you care," Marlene said with a grin.

* * *

Author Notes. This is my very first story and I'm very nervous about it. I really hope it's at least decent, but if it isn't I would definitely like some constructive criticism. This is a rather short first chapter, but I have several more finished, and I'm hoping to upload a chapter every few days.

I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm not sure it's very good, so I would like some reviews. Thank you!


	2. Party

Authors Notes: Here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and if there are any mistakes in grammar or spelling, please tell me so I can fix it. Thank you for reading.

* * *

"There she is," Sirius muttered under his breath, following a certain red-headed girl's path as she sat down at the table and pulled a plate of kippers towards her. He glanced at James. "Do what you do best."

"What?" James said, feigning ignorance. "Exploding Snap?"

"No, you idiot! Flirt with Lily Evans!" with that, Sirius shoved him in the direction of Lily. James stumbled and gave him a nasty look over his shoulder. Sirius grinned back at him.

Uncharacteristically nervous, James sauntered over to Lily's table, running a hand through his messy locks. He sat down next to her, ignoring her miserable groan at the sight of him.

"_Hello_, Evans," James said, running an appreciative eye up and down her body. She closed her eyes and put her head down on the warm wood of the table.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked with a sigh, opening her eyes and looking at him with something like disgust, as though he were little more than something on her shoe.

James momentarily found himself lost in her gorgeous emerald eyes as she watched him, waiting for an answer, and stared for a second, mouth hanging open like an imbecile. Lily raised an eyebrow. James snapped back to reality, summoning a breezy grin only moments later.

"Only a date with you, lovely Lily," he said with a suggestive smile. He gave her a lazy wink. Now, far from being something nasty on the bottom of her shoe, he was little more than a slug she would like dearly to step on.

"Like that would ever happen," she snapped, pushing her chair away from the table and grabbing her bag. She started off, clearly intending on leaving him behind. But a second later, he caught up with her as she strode off.

"You never know, Evans. It very well might happen one day," he told her seriously as she rounded the corner.

"In your dreams, Potter," she said scathingly, red hair swaying behind her as she put on a burst of speed. James took a second to admire the view.

"Oh, you know that, Evans. That… and more," he said, licking his lips and giving her a lascivious look.

"You're disgusting, Potter," she snapped.

"Oh come on, Lily!" he cried exasperatedly. "Don't be such a prude!"

He had hit a button.

She whirled around, hair hitting his face as she did, and stabbed a finger into his chest. "A _prude?_" she took a dangerous step closer to him.

"N-now Evans," James said uncertainly, backing up a step. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yes you did!" she flared up. "How dare you! What right do you have to judge me, you chauvinistic _pig_? You think that just because you're a Quidditch captain, I should fall right over you!" she was breathing hard, and took another step towards him.

You think that just because you're '_cool_' because you strut around the corridors, hexing everyone who looks at you, I should be _honoured_ by the attention! You make me _sick!_ And Potter?"

"What?" he snapped. The two of them were barely inches away from each other, shoulders hunched and faces red, completely unaware of the gathering crowd around them.

"I'd rather be a prude than a complete _slag_ like you!"

James spluttered for a second. "Blokes can't be slags!" he protested.

"That's what I thought too until I met you and Black!" she shouted. He glared at her.

"We aren't _slags, _you _prude._"

"Yes, you are, you filthy, chauvinistic, ugly, arrogant _slag!_"

"Oh really?" he retorted, feeling his blood pumping. There was roaring in his ears and he seemed inordinately hot. "Well, you're a dried up, hideous hag of a prude!"

"Hideous? _Hideous?_ You didn't think I was hideous when you charmed my knickers to sing my praises and ask me out!" she shrieked. James spluttered for a second, temporarily nonplussed. With a final scathing look, Lily stomped off, nearly knocking over a first-year as she went.

"Blood prude!" he shouted after her. Quiet snickers reached his ears and he spared a withering glare for the surrounding people. "Clear off," he said, chivying a particularly reticent third-year with a well aimed jinx.

"Are your attempts to ask girls out _always_ so… catastrophic?"

James wheeled around to see a boy grinning at him, brown eyes sparkling with laughter. He had hair that was – now that James came to it – brilliantly golden, and his teeth were almost painfully white.

"She likes me; I know she does," James said, sticking his chest out. The boy smiled – and something in his phony white smile made James immediately distrust him.

"Don't worry," the boy said. "You're right, I'm sure. But honestly, I think _she's_ the slag, not you." He pointed at his chin ruefully. "She made me sprout tentacles when I asked her out," he said with a scowl that made him look quite suddenly ugly. "Ugly Mudblood slut."

"What did you just call Evans?" James asked in a deadly whisper.

"I called her," the boy said, seemingly not understanding why James' face was white and his hands shaking. "a filthy, uppity, ugly, Mudblood sl-"

James' wand was out in an instant, a spell was on his lips, and the world exploded in a flash of light.

* * *

"I am _extremely_ disappointed in you," Professor McGonagall said in a deadly whisper.

Her lips were the thinnest of white lines and a few strands of her hair were escaping the tight bun. She strode across the room, boots flashing underneath her emerald robe. "I cannot believe that you hexed Samuel Dearborn and exploded part of the wall. Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"But Professor," James protested. "He called Lily a- a-"

"I do not care what he called Miss Evans! Now you will be silent, or it will be detentions every day for the next month!"

She was fuming and her famous glare was in full effect when she turned to the next miscreant. "Mister Black," she said dryly. "Am I to believe you Vanished Thomas Bhatt's hair?"

"Twice," Sirius said with a nod. "And I was doing him a favor. His new haircut was simply ghastly." He leaned forward with an earnest look. "And I was doing it all for you, Minnie! I thought of how awful you would feel, looking at him every day for _hours_. It was all for you!"

James rather thought her lips twitched for a second before she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Detention."

"Fun," Sirius said cheekily.

"-With Mister Filch."

James watched as Sirius' face went from amused to confused, then shocked, then finally settled on utter horror.

"What? Filch! Him and that batty old cat will be watching my every move and he'll talk to it and she's an ugly little monster that will eat me and-"

"Mister Black! That's enough. It will be two detentions if you do not cease and desist."

"He talks to her like she's his wife! Maybe she is," he added as an aside. "But I didn't know Filch was into beastiality-"

"And that," James recounted an hour later. "Is how Gryffindor lost a hundred points today. It's nowhere near our record, but still…"

The eager girls surrounding him burst into giggles and whispered to each other. Sirius, who was reclining on a chair next to him, rolled his eyes. "You forgot to tell these lovely ladies how I bravely slew a dragon."

"You _did?_" Cassy Gramp said with an awestruck look, clearly not noticing the smirks on James, Peter, and Remus' faces. The twittering girls converged on Sirius, giggling all the while.

"Yes indeed," Sirius announced, wrapping an arm around her. She settled next to him, smirking victoriously at her four friends as they made disappointed noises.

James rolled his eyes and turned to his two other friends. "So, Remus," he said casually. "How are you today?"

"Absolutely spiffing," he said sarcastically. "Of course, that's if you discount Sirius' giggling friends."

James stole a glance at them. Sirius was in his element, making animated gestures as he described how exactly he slew the dragon. The five girls were watching in awestruck silence as he made a slashing motion.

"Right, "he said, drawing himself out of his reverie and turning away from them. "But anyhow, I was thinking-"

He never managed to finish his sentence.

"Potter!"

He would recognise that sweet but angry voice anywhere. He turned to see Lily Evans storming down from the girls' dormitory, face pink with fury. She hurried over to him, hair seeming to crackle with her anger and dangerous green eyes flashing.

"Am I to understand that not two minutes after I turned you down, you hexed a boy?"

"I did, but-"

Her face was hurt and slightly sad. "James, I thought- I thought you weren't going to do this anymore! I thought you might have matured! Just because I turned you down, you took your irritation out on a defenseless boy?"

"I _didn't_, Lily," he said, and something in his face must have convinced her. She raised an eyebrow. She didn't look quite so furious anymore – on the contrary, she looked curious against her will.

"Then why would you do that?" she asked.

"I hexed him," he said with deliberation. "Because he called you the- the 'm' word!"

Far from calming her down as he had hoped, she seemed to be even angrier than before. "I don't need you to protect me, Potter!" she said, face flushed and red. Even then, he thought she was gorgeous, but she didn't let him linger on the pleasing thought.

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself and your misplaced valor is _not necessary! _Next time, just report it and leave it to the teachers!"

The girls who had swarmed Sirius had fallen silent, looking back and forth between the two as if watching a game of cricket. Sirius had opened his mouth but Remus elbowed him in the ribs.

He rose from his chair, itching for a good fight. "The teachers? They won't do anything, Lily! I was protecting you; it wasn't misplaced valor-"

"I don't _need_ protecting!" she shouted. He forced down the anger simmering in him and remembered the plan to supposedly seduce her. If she was ever to take any interest in him at all, he couldn't be so harsh.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said.

"See," she said triumphantly. "I knew you would- wait, _what?_"

"I'm sorry. I should have done what you said. I was just angry on your behalf and reacted. Would you forgive me?"

She stared. And stared.

"Would you say something?" he said uncomfortably.

"I- I suppose I forgive you," she said, still looking very uncertain and more than a bit confused.

"Sit down with me," he said, patting the chair beside him. She gave him a slightly suspicious look, but sat and stared at the crackling fire for a moment.

"You've changed," she said after a minute.

"What?" he asked stupidly.

"You've changed a lot this year. I suppose I was angry because you mostly stopped attacking random people… and I jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have to apologise," he muttered. "I did attack him… but he was calling you awful names…" he grinned as he remembered part of what the boy said and Lily looked curiously at him. "He said he asked you out once and you gave him tentacles."

Lily let out a laugh and James reveled in the sound.

_She's so different from the other girls_, he thought, watching her smile. _All they do is giggle and be coy… but she's so… real…_

Her voice jerked him from his dreamy thoughts and he struggled to marshal his confused thoughts into a coherent train of thought.

"Oh, I remember him," she was saying, firelight dancing on her white teeth as she smiled. "He's really slimy and disgusting… and he said some really ugly things even as he asked me out! I cursed him so badly they couldn't remove those things for a week," she said vindictively.

"Wow," he said admiringly. "Not too different from me, there."

He had intended it to be a joke, but when she looked back at him she seemed to realise who exactly she was talking to.

"Maybe… and I almost never do it… and he deserved it. You, on the other hand, hex anyone who annoys you."

With that, she pushed herself to her feet and walked towards the girls' dormitory with dignity, leaving James to wonder how, when it came to her, he managed to say all the wrong things.

* * *

Lily was sprawled on her bed, arm dangling off the side, sheets haphazardly pulled around her. She lay quietly, concentrating on her breathing. But this could not distract her forever, and soon her thoughts returned to James Potter.

She remembered how he had looked down in the Common Room, hazel eyes sparkling with laughter, occasionally running a hand through his messy black hair. His voice was deep when he spoke to her, and somehow more mature than usual.

For a moment, she had almost forgotten how much she hated him… it seemed so easy to talk and laugh with him. It was easy to forget that he had cost her her best friend. She closed her eyes.

The sound of laughter and voices filtered up. There was a loud _bang_ like a firecracker, and shrieks of laughter. Lily's eyes popped open. It was obvious she would be getting no sleep now.

With a hearty scowl, she grabbed her bag full of books and slung it over her shoulder. She hesitated and sat on the bed for a moment, listening for noises. It sounded as it had turned into a full-blown party; she could hear more laughter, and what sounded like music.

_Where on earth did they get a wireless? Never mind that, it's not important. I need to stop those idiots before they trash the Common room… I'm a prefect… I have a reputation to uphold._

She stood gracefully and headed to the Common room. She had a party to stop.

James sat near the fireplace, laughing as he watched the others. Somehow, they had all decided to throw a party and a particularly crafty spell made the room flash all kinds of colours, not unlike the new disco places.

Marlene was dancing with Sirius, who was performing some kind of ridiculous shuffling dance, Peter was throwing peanuts at Remus, who was ducking to avoid them, and almost everyone was in the middle of the Common Room, dancing.

They had shoved the chairs into the corners of the room and cleared out a space in the middle of the room. Sirius, Remus, and Peter had snuck off and obtained firewhiskey from Madam Rosmerta, who had a soft spot for them, and a table stood in the very middle of the room, legs almost buckling from the weight of food and alcohol.

Sirius hiccoughed as he disengaged from Marlene and unsteadily made his way to James. He had a stupid grin plastered on his face and tripped over nothing several times.

"How much have you even had to drink?" James asked, watching Sirius try to sit down and completely miss. He made a weak attempt to stand up, then decided to settle for the floor as he swayed dangerously.

"Who cares?" Sirius said blearily. "I'm pissed, tha's all I know."

James observed him for a minute, then stood up. "Good idea," he said, crossing the room and grabbing some firewhiskey. He threw back his head and drank it. He choked and coughed painfully as it burned the whole way down.

"What is going on here?"

James turned to see Lily, her green eyes wide and shocked, standing at the entrance. She crossed her arms as he made his way towards her.

"This was your plan, wasn't it?"she said as he tripped and nearly fell.

"Actually, no it wasn't," he said, coughing a bit. He took a swig of the firewhiskey.

"You're drunk, aren't you," she accused. "I can smell the alcohol on your breath."

"Nah… Jus- just tipsy," he said, but it was obvious she didn't believe him.

"I want you to stop this," she said baldly, looking around at the staggering people. "They're going to wreck the common room."

"C-c'mon, Evans! Let your hair down; have a little fun! I'll even clean it up after we're done," he added as she opened her mouth. She closed it again, obviously considering.

"You'll clean it up?"

"Every bit of it," he promised. A mischievous smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"By yourself? With no magic?" Lily asked. He spluttered for a second, then nodded reluctantly. She grinned, and in that second he thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"In that case… in that case, pour me some firewhiskey, Potter."

* * *

Author's Notes: Hopefully it turned out decently. I've had this done for a while, but I'm only now getting around to loading it because I'm lazy. I have one or two more chapters finished. Thanks again for reading!


	3. Hospital

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for the reviews! Besides that, I've got nothing interesting to say. I would love reviews and I hope you enjoy reading.

* * *

_It wasn't a bad deal,_ James thought, picking up a bit of trash and wiping a bit of vomit from a chair. _Lily definitely had a lot of fun… I think she did, at least._

He bent over and picked up something slimy he didn't even want to think about. He lobbed it at the bin, smirking as it hit.

"And he scores again," James said, raising his arms in mock celebration. There was no reply behind the sound of loud snores that might even rival a chainsaw. He raised an eyebrow and peeked around a chair.

A large lump was sprawled on the floor, ratcheting snores echoing in the small room. James, curious, rounded the chair and rolled the cloak-clad lump over.

It was Sirius, and he was incredibly drunk. He had lipstick stains on his face and someone had taken the liberty to draw rude marks on his face. James sighed and poked him in the ribs. Sirius snorted. James grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Wha'?" Sirius said confusedly as James struggled to haul him across the room.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty."

"What's 'at?" Sirius muttered.

"Some weird Muggle thing. I dunno," he said, shrugging. He kicked at another lump on the ground. "Oi! Help me with this idiot."

Peter raised a bleary head and stared straight at James for a second before his head dropped back to the ground and he let out a loud snore.

"Idiots," he muttered. "Probably a good thing I was following Evans and couldn't get drunk."

Sirius opened his eyes and looked placidly at James for a minute. James stared back. He had just opened his mouth to ask what Sirius was on about when Sirius vomited on his very expensive shoes.

"Yahh! Sirius – you idiot!"

James jumped around furiously, dropping Sirius like a hot coal and trying not to step on even more puddles of sick. He tripped over Peter's leg and hit the ground hard. He distinctly heard a crack and the shattering of glass before the world went black.

* * *

Lily stumbled into her room, giggling slightly. Behind her, Marlene and Mary came in. Marlene could barely even walk, and Mary was laughing at something she had said. Lily collapsed on her bed, the world spinning around her.

"We are _so_ going to regret this in the morning," she mumbled into her pillow. She heard a loud crash and looked up to see Mary trying in vain to pull Marlene up.

Mary grinned broadly and gave Marlene a yank, almost falling with her. "You're going to regret it more than I am. I only had a few butterbeers and you have McGonagall in the morning."

"Don't remind me," Lily groaned. "James was such an arse today. He followed me around for the whole party and once he got tipsy, every word out of his mouth was either to ask me out or to say I have nice eyes."

"Tha's so sweet," Marlene mumbled. "You shoul' take him up on that of- offer," she hiccoughed weakly and nuzzled her face into the ground as though it were the softest of pillows. "I know I would…"

"Marlene, forgive me if I don't take your advice when you spent twenty minutes talking about Sirius' arse."

"'e looked gorgeous," she mumbled. Marlene hiccoughed again, then fell silent.

"Is she still alive?" Lily asked idly. Mary prodded her with her foot.

"I think she fainted."

Marlene let out a loud snore.

"I don't believe it," Mary muttered. "She's fallen asleep." Lily giggled, though it wasn't really funny.

Mary rolled her eyes and started to put her pyjamas on, leaving Marlene to lay prone on the floor. Lily rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling, humming softly.

"I can't believe Clarice didn't even join us," Mary said, pointing the sleeve of her pyjamas at the bed in the corner. "I'm not even sure she's in there. Probably with some boy," she muttered, turning her attention back to her robes. "Aren't you even going to change?" Mary asked her.

Lily shook her head, still staring at the ceiling idly. "I'll need to be ready to run when I wake up… It'll prob'ly take ten minutes for my head to stop pounding…"

"Practical even when you're pissed." Mary shook her head. "You're a weird one, Evans."

Lily smiled.

* * *

James woke slowly to the noises of soft voices around him. He groaned and rolled over to see the concerned eyes of Remus.

"Moony," he mumbled. "Where 'm I?"

"Hospital Wing. We wouldn't have bothered, only you cut your face on glass from your ugly glasses."

"They're not ugly," James said indignantly. His vision clearing somewhat and his head having stopped whirling, he sat up and looked around. The cold, clinical white of the Hospital Wing surrounded him. He was in a bed, he realised, and Remus was looking bored and sitting in a chair opposite him.

"Sirius said something about vomiting on you, but he's drunk enough I didn't believe him. 'Course, if I believed that idiot, he fought off a hundred Kappas just to wake me up."

"Good on him," James muttered, finding his head was pounding quite painfully. "Never believe Sirius when he's drunk," he said with a nod.

"Good advice. Madam Pomfrey reckons you can go, but you have to be careful," Remus said. He reached into his robes and withdrew something that James couldn't quite make out. He squinted at it, but to no avail. "She fixed your glasses too."

"Oh," James said. "Thanks."

He grabbed them and shoved them on, his vision immediately clearing. "Right. Why aren't Sirius and Peter huddled around my sickbed?"

Remus winced. "Er… I'm afraid that when we were carrying you down here, Sirius spotted Mrs. Norris and kicked her. I _told _him not to, but he's going on about how she's evil, I tell him to be quiet, and suddenly he's disappeared… anyhow. _Unfortunately_… well… it wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Professor McGonagall."

James sighed and closed his eyes. "Is he still alive? She hasn't skinned him yet, has she?"

"I- er, I'm not so sure about that. I think she's still yelling at him."

"What about Peter?" James asked him, dreading the answer.

"Well… Peter… Peter shoved 'Mrs. Norris' into a broom closet after Sirius kicked her. He's with Sirius."

James snorted. "Why are my mates such idiots?"

"Sirius' stomach takes all the nutrients just to keep it going, so none can get to his brain. Peter… well, Peter doesn't have such an excuse," Remus said with a roll of his eyes.

"Ah, well… let's get back to the Common room," James said, standing up. He swayed slightly as he did, and Madam Pomfrey seemingly appeared out of nowhere – it was as though she had simply bloomed out of the ground. James yelped at the sight of her.

"Are you dizzy? If you are, perhaps you should lie down…" the nurse said fussily, trying to take her temperature.

"I'm fine," James said hastily.

"Well, if you're sure..." she trailed off doubtfully.

"I'm _fine_."

Ten minutes later, James and Remus finally managed to escape Madam Pomfrey, beating a hasty retreat when she went to get a Dreamless Sleep potion. The two only slowed down when they were a floor above the Hospital Wing.

"Are you sure she's gone?" James asked, glancing over his shoulder so often it looked like he had a twitch.

"Certain," Remus assured him.

"Good," he said. "Crazy bat. I thought she'd never let us go."

Chuckling, the two friends sped off in the direction of their common room, never aware of the eyes watching them.

* * *

Authors Notes: Thank you for reading. I would really like reviews and I hope it was alright.


	4. Attacks

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reads this. I would love it if you could review.

* * *

Clarice Hawkins was beautiful, intelligent, and could have been an excellent role model for her three little sisters. But there was nothing she was more ashamed of than her intelligence, and she sought hard to hide it. She only used her beauty to manipulate and ensnare boys.

Clarice was never a good role model.

At the moment, the pretty brunette stuck her head out from the pillar and watched James go. She ran her tongue around her pouty lips, following his every movement with her dark brown eyes. She smiled in a malicious sort of way and skipped off towards the Common room, careful to let him get there first.

She told the portrait the password and the second it had opened, she shoved her way inside. She spotted James laughing with Remus near the fireplace and headed over, but she was careful not to look too eager.

Clarice walked by him, swaying her hips in a seductive manner. She saw him glance away from Remus and look at her. The second his eyes met hers, she pretended to blush and look embarrassed. He smiled at her in a way that was probably meant to set her at ease.

She swallowed hard, heart thumping in her chest, then smiled coyly back at him.

"Hello, James," she purred at him. She stood elegantly from her seat and walked over to him.

"Er- hi," he said a bit awkwardly. She sat down in the chair next to him and was sure to thrust her chest forward.

"How are _you_ today?" she asked him in a flirtatious voice. She saw him exchange a quick glance with Remus before turning back to her.

"I'm okay… I'm sure you heard about the party earlier… were you there?"

"Oh no… perhaps I'll be at the next one."

"Right," he said cautiously. He stood and stretched, yawning loudly. "I think I'll go the bed."

"Me too," Remus said quickly. The two hurried off in the direction of their dormitory. Clarice stayed behind for a second a pouty look on her face. She was _pretty_. Why would they run off so quickly? Scowling, but deep in thought, she went to her bed, scheming all the while.

* * *

Lily woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned and covered her head with her pillow, trying in vain to filter out the noise from below. The light coming in from the window seemed to burn her eyes and she thought her head might explode at any moment.

"Good morning!" Mary said cheerfully, sitting up and stretching. Her only responses were pillows thrown at her by Lily and Marlene. "Someone's cranky," she said, smiling happily.

"Go away," Marlene moaned.

"Not likely," Mary said, standing and rummaging in her robe for something. "Here," she said, tossing two bottles at Lily and Marlene. Lily emerged from below her pillow.

"What are these?" Lily asked, examining the bottle.

"Headache potion," Mary said with a grin. "I thought you'd need it after last night."

"You're a lifesaver, Mary," Lily groaned, downing the potion. She screwed up her face in disgust and retched weakly. "This is awful!" she cried, dropping the bottle in disgust.

"Does your head feel better?"

Lily considered it. Though her mouth tasted foul, her head was beginning to clear and she found that the light from the window didn't hurt nearly so much. "Yes… yes it does. Thanks, Mary."

"No problem," her friend said, concentrating on Marlene. "No- yes, you have to take it! And I'm fairly certain that's anatomically impossible, so no, I cannot shov- come _on_, Marlene! Drink it!"

Lily ignored the two and picked up her bag, finding it strangely heavy. She stumbled slightly as she slung it over her shoulder.

"Mary?" she said uncertainly. Mary ducked Marlene's fist and looked over at her.

"What, Lil- stop it, Marlene!"

"Did you put something in my bag?"

"Your bag? What - I said _stop_ it - no, I didn't- You try to hit me one more time and I'll smother you with your own pillow!" Mary threatened Marlene.

Lily opened her bag with an odd feeling of foreboding – only to drop it with a shriek.

"Mary!" she wailed in shock as the bag hit the floor with a wet _flump. H_undreds of worms burst out of the bag and wriggled futilely on the floor. Mary stopped fighting Marlene to look over. Her mouth dropped and she hurried to Lily's side.

"Lily! What the – have you been doing? Why are there worms-?"

"Mary!" she interrupted slightly hysterically. She pointed at her books and homework, upon which had been scrawled the word _Mudblood_ over and over in a bright red pen. She swallowed hard, the feeling of nausea rising.

"Oh Merlin. Lily, get out of here. Now. I- I'll fix this and clean it up. Go to McGonagall," Mary ordered, already bending over to pick up some of the wiggling horrors. She grabbed a textbook and shook it free of worms, then handed it to Lily.

"It's okay, Lily," she said soothingly, though it was very hard indeed to be soothing when covered in worms. "Just… just take it to the professor."

Lily nodded faintly. The feeling of nausea was still strong as she hurried from the room. She cursed herself as she forced herself down the stairs. It had been a year ago… she should be over it… But it was Severus Snape's voice that echoed in her head, saying the exact same words…

"Excuse me," Lily said, though her voice seemed to come from far away. She blinked and looked around to see the common room was filled with people, all murmuring to each other. The voices reached a crescendo and Lily covered her ears.

"What's happening?" she shouted at Sirius, who hovered nearby. He shrugged weakly.

"Excuse me – I'm a prefect. Let me go past you. Excuse me…" Lily muttered excuses to people as she pushed past them to where none of them seemed willing to go. "Oh Merlin," she breathed.

The notice board should have been covered in announcements and maybe telling of a Hogsmeade visit. What it most definitely _shouldn't _have been covered with were papers, all reading the same thing.

**Death to Mudbloods.**

Lily reeled back, gaping in shock. The brilliantly red papers so reminiscent of blood seemed to leap out at her, the words emblazoned on them shining brightly.

"Everyone – clear off!" a strong voice shouted. Lily didn't even turn around to see who it was. She stared in a horrified trance at the papers. "Lily?" the voice was gentle.

She finally tore her gaze from the papers.

"J-James?"

"Yeah," he said grimly, looking behind her at the notice board. "You saw it too?"

"James, it's not just that," she said. She held out the textbook and watched as his face contorted in shock, then anger.

"We need to get a teacher. Get these down!" he shouted at Sirius and Remus, who had silently appeared on either side of him. They nodded and started ripping the papers off. A few people behind them were still talking, but the majority of the room was utterly silent.

"Come on, Lily," he said, grabbing her arm and attempting to steer her towards the door.

"I can walk, thanks," she said irritably. She blinked and shook her head, forcing herself from her daze.

Before they had even taken a step, the portrait hole burst open. Lily's knees weakened with relief at the sight of Professor McGonagall.

"What's all this noise?" the professor demanded. "All of you need to get to class!"

"Professor," Lily said quietly, walking forward. Professor McGonagall whirled to face her.

"Miss Evans! I expected better of you. I thought you would clear them out and get them to class," the professor looked disappointed in her.

Unable to summon her voice, Lily held her book forward. James came forward and silently held out one of the papers that had bedecked the notice board. The professor's expression instantly changed.

"Oh dear," she breathed as she read the proffered paper. Her tone instantly snapped back to its normal harsh tone. "Come with me. We need to see the headmaster immediately. Are there any more?"

Lily shook her head. "I think Sirius and Remus got them all," she said. Her voice sounded weak and scratchy. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. "I don't know if any other Muggleborns received any messages."

"Thank you, Miss Evans. Come with me. You too, Mister Potter."

Lily and James hurried after the professor as she strode off, effortlessly cutting through the crowd of people.

* * *

Lily was in a daze the entire journey. She followed the other two blindly as they hurried through the castle. Images flashed through her mind. The scarlet papers. The ugly words scrawled on her books. Severus, voice angry as he shouted the condemning words.

"Ice Mice."

Professor McGonagall's clear voice cut a path in the fog in her mind. Distracted, she looked up just in time to see the stone gargoyle leap to the side. Still dazed, she stumbled her way up the stairs. In front of her was a luxurious door with a knocker.

Professor McGonagall raised a hand and knocked sharply. The door swung open, and still confused, Lily entered.

* * *

Several hours later, the duo exited. James glanced at Lily, who still seemed absorbed in something he couldn't see. Her eyes looked blank and dull and she occasionally stumbled.

"Hey…" he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. His touch seemed to rouse her, and she turned around to peer at him confusedly, though he fancied that she still look distracted. "Are you okay? I know you probably-"

"I'm fine," she said harshly – more than she seemed to intend. She blinked, then her gaze softened. "Just some nasty memories – all of which were your fault, I might add."

"I didn't do that," James protested. Lily made an attempt at a smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to bed," she said quietly, detaching herself from him with practiced grace. She glanced back at him. "Good night, James."

"Good night," he returned. She nodded and hurried off. He sighed and his shoulders slumped.

_What an awful day…_

He tiredly walked towards the common room, exhausted and miserable. The corridors were silent; all the students had been instructed to stay in their common room. Not for the first time, James was fervently glad that they had Dumbledore as headmaster; a less competent headmaster might have dismissed it as a childish prank, but Dumbledore seemed to recognise the seriousness of the threatening messages.

James leaned against a wall, closing his eyes. Not two days ago he had been watching Peter pelt Remus with peanuts and getting drunk…it seemed like years ago now.

His eyes snapped open suddenly and his hand dived for his wand. He crouched and looked around. There was a strange noise coming from around the corner.

A sensible person would have backed away, especially in light of the cruel messages. A sensible person might have notified a teacher about something suspicious. A sensible person would never have leapt around the corner, wand raised. James Potter was never a sensible person.

"Don't move!" he shouted. There was a flash of light and a loud _bang._ James fell back, pawing at his eyes in pain. The light burned like fire, and before he could even attempt to pry his agonized eyes open, he heard the sound of footfalls as whoever it had been ran away.

James, gasping in pain, backed up and slammed into the wall. Still rubbing furiously at his eyes, he slid down the wall into a pained ball.

"James? James!" He heard someone run towards him, then kneel next to him. They pried at his arms, trying to see his eyes. "Come on, James, let me see."

Realising they were friendly, but in too much pain to recognise the voice, James allowed them to pull his hands away. Whoever it was let out a low whistle.

"Conjunctivitis Curse," they muttered. "And a good one. Sorry, but I can't fix this myself. Come on, James. It's okay."

It was only after he stood shakily and allowed them to lead him off did he realize it was Lily who spoke so caringly to him.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter's pretty different from the rest, but I hope it was okay. As ever, thanks for reading.


	5. Pranks

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm glad you liked it. If anyone thinks I should try to make the chapters longer or spots a grammar or spelling mistake, please notify me, because I would love to improve. I'm really not happy with this chapter. It was so hard to write it. If you thought it wasn't so good, you can tell me.

Also, since I brilliantly forgot this until now, the Harry Potter series and characters are most definitely not mine, and in fact belong to a lovely lady named JKR. Not that anyone would mistake my writing for hers, but still… Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I would really love reviews.

* * *

James was out of the Hospital wing in a day. It was only later that he realised that the sudden flux of injured Muggleborns was what had him out so fast – they needed room for everyone injured.

"It's getting worse," James overheard had Lily quietly telling her friend. The dark-haired girl nodded.

It was true.

Everyone seemed to travel in groups now, even those who weren't Muggleborn. There seemed to be little laughter, and voices were almost always in a whisper. Muggleborns were often attacked in the corridors – whether from the author of the mysterious threats or those who had taken them as a cue to act. An aura of fear hung over the students of Hogwarts like a heavy blanket.

James sat in History of Magic class, staring idly out the window. Beside him, Sirius was attempting to balance a quill on his nose while Peter snored on his desk. Only Remus seemed to be paying any attention, and even that was difficult even for him.

Outside, the weather was dark. Storm clouds swirled and the occasional crack of thunder rang out. It was as though even the weather was conspiring to add to the grim mood. James watched the Giant Squid jet along the lake before it disappeared into the black depths. Binns' voice had worked its soporific effect on the class, and most of them were snoring loudly - James was about the bash his head against the desk just from the noice.

"Uric the Oddball, driven mad by his…"

James sighed and turned his attention to Sirius, who was now doodling on his textbook. "Hey, Sirius," he mouthed at him, knowing Binns would never notice. Sirius continued to draw obscene pictures on the textbook.

James kicked him lightly and Sirius looked up in surprise. "What?" he hissed at James.

"I'm bored," James whispered back. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Who isn't?" he replied rhetorically.

"Yeah, but I want to do something," James whined. Sirius rolled his eyes again.

"Wait until after class. I'm nearly falling asleep here, plus it's so boring I don't even know if there's anything we can do. This class is so _boring_."

Sirius mimed collapsing dramatically on to his desk, sending an ink bottle flying. James watched it smack Peter in the face and burst, covering all of his brown hair and soaking his robes. He woke up instantly and glared viciously at Sirius.

"Hey!" Peter shouted indignantly. He scooped up a quill and tossed it at Sirius. The quill struck him in the middle of the forehead and left a black mark. Sirius blinked in shock.

Ten minutes later, James had taken refuge under a desk, occasionally ducking. Professor Binns, apparently unaware of what was happening, continued to drone on as Sirius let out a great whoop of laughter and smashed an inkbottle on a Slytherin boy's head.

The boy snarled, then tackled Sirius, sending them skidding across the across the classroom.

"In 1863, the giants were…"

James watched interestedly as Sirius shoved the boy off, then dived for his wand. There was a bang and a flash of light, and Sirius cart-wheeled through the air before hitting the wall.

"Oi!" James shouted, his own hand flying to his wand. There was another flash of light and the blond boy fell over, arms rigid at his sides. The other Slytherins rose from their chairs, some reaching for their wands. There was another loud bang and James began dueling in earnest.

* * *

Professor McGonagall didn't look so much angry as shocked.

"Am I to understand," she said with deliberate slowness. "That you utterly destroyed Professor Binns' classroom, sent six Slytherins to the Hospital Wing, turned one student into a carrot, and set fire to the corridor outside of the classroom?"

"Well," James said earnestly. "The Slytherins started it, they're the ones who destroyed half the class room, I think it was Peter who may - and I emphasize _may - _have turned them into a corrot, and we really didn't mean to set the corridor on fire."

The professor closed her eyes and pushed her glasses further up her nose. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, and detention for you, Mister Pettigrew. Later today at 6:00"

Peter groaned and slumped in his chair.

"Though I have to say, that was some excellent transfiguration," Professor McGonagall gave him a rare almost smile before immediately looking serious again. "Mister Black, you and Mister Lupin will have detention with Mister Pettigrew."

The other Marauders' smirks grew.

"Mister Potter… I believe you are the ringleader of these hooligans. I'm afraid you'll have to go to detention later. Tomorrow, at 8:00. You may go."

The four miscreants escaped her office quickly, running before she could think of anything else to punish them with. Sirius turned around and made a few rude gestures at the sullen Slytherins sitting outside the office before running after the others.

The four of them, grinning, made their way to the Common room.

"Hah!" James said in amusement, light glinting off his glasses. "Did you see that one girl? When she got ink in her hair I thought she was going to explode!"

"And I'm sure you think that's very amusing, don't you?"

The four pranksters skidded to a halt at the sight of Lily Evans, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, blocking their path. She glared at them.

"Hey, Evans," James said, hand immediately leaping to his hair. She transferred her icy look to him and his hand froze mid-air. He fidgeted uncomfortably as she stared at them all. One by one, they all dropped their gazes. Only Lily Evans could make them feel like that.

"Ah… Evans?" Peter said uncertainly. His protests withered and died in his throat as she gave him a heart-stopping scowl.

"You blew up a classroom. You set a corridor on fire." Lily threw her arms into the air in dismay. "You four are lucky I was in a Prefect meeting," she said with a look of disgust.

"Go out with me, Evans?" James said weakly.

"Not in a thousand years," was her flat response.

"Oh, come on, Evans," Sirius said earnestly. "Let your hair down a little! Don't be such a stick-"

"Sirius Black!" she said, looking scandalised. "I am a Prefect. I have my duties."

James rolled his eyes as she went on and on about her _sacred _duties as a Prefect. As though it had been rehearsed, Sirius glanced over at James with a little grin. He gave a little nod. Sirius smirked.

"-And I cannot _believe_ you-"Lily's diatribe was interrupted by a flash of grey light and a shriek. "W-what is this?" she wailed in shock.

James bent over, unrestrainedly roaring with laughter. On his sides, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were absolutely crying with amusement.

Lily's prized dark-red locks were now an ugly, faded blonde and done up in bows, her clothes had been transformed to resemble a ridiculously frilly dress Sirius had seen in a Muggle magazine, and her face was plastered in badly clashing makeup. She let out a shocked wail and tried to yank the bows off, but they didn't move.

For a second, James almost felt guilty at the stunned look on her face, but the feeling quickly passed when she let out a shriek and dived for her wand. The four boys fled quickly, running before she even got the chance to utter one of the spells he knew were on her lips. Her angry screams followed him as they ran as fast as they could. They ran, panting furiously, until they were certain the vengeful Lily couldn't find them.

"That," Sirius said, leaning against a wall and panting. "Was amazing."

James, who was bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath, let out a weak laugh.

"I feel like we've been _far_ too good for _far_ too long. Next thing you know, one of us will be Head Boy," Sirius said, grinning at the ridiculous thought. James snorted with laughter.

"I think," James said with a smirk. "We need to obliterate any chance of _that _ever happening."

If nothing else, the evil smirks on all of the Marauders' faces would have sent any sane person running.

* * *

Lily sat on the cold tiles of the floor, tears sliding down her face. A strand of her ugly blonde hair came out of one of the silly bows as she bowed her head, hiccoughing occasionally. She sniffled, the lump in her throat painful. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sat for a while, tears occasionally slipping from her eyes and falling.

She didn't know why she was so upset. Perhaps it was the look of something – almost guilt – on his face before he started laughing hysterically. Perhaps it was the way he looked when he tossed back his head and laughed. Perhaps it was the way he had been so mature and supporting when her books had been written on few days ago… but perhaps he could never change.

She really thought he might have been changing. There had been moments when he had been so pleasant, so adult, so handsome...

Lily cried for what might have been.

* * *

Lily vacated the room a few minutes later after she had washed her face and carefully vanished any trace of the ridiculous outfit. Marlene pushed herself off the bed she had been laying on and rolled her eyes at the sight of her.

"Finally out? I thought you'd drowned yourself or something," she said bluntly. Lily smiled weakly and walked past her friend, who frowned after her. "Are you okay?" Marlene called after her.

"Yeah," Lily said without turning around. "I'm fine."

Her friend nodded, accepting the excuse without question, but even to Lily the words rang false. She was glad Marlene didn't question her. She walked silently down the stairs into the common room. She only registered the soft buzzing of voices after she was halfway across the room.

A sense of dread pervaded her, and she wheeled around. Once again, the Gryffindors were crowded around the notice board whispering to each other. A girl was crying. She had a distinct feeling of déjà vu, but swallowing her dread, she pushed through the crowd and finally reached the notice board which was, once again, plastered with scarlet papers, each reading the same thing.

**The Dark Lord rises.**

Lily swallowed hard, the feeling of nausea once again rising. Her chest flooded with an icy feeling and her skin prickled in horror. She stood frozen for half a second, then grabbed one of the papers and yanked it off. The ripping of paper gave her perverse satisfaction and she snatched another and ripped it as well, balling it and tossing it to the floor.

Silently, one of the Gryffindors walked forward and grabbed one as well. The unfamiliar younger girl crumpled it, and tossed it in the fireplace. The words flared, glowing brightly, then the paper blackened and crumbled to ash. Another Gryffindor stepped forward, then another, silent but determined.

Together, they tore the papers from the notice board.

* * *

James and his friends stood Great Hall, admiring their work and grinning furiously. The once proud green banners that hung over the Slytherin table were now a bright pink and emblazoned with a sparkling unicorn that snorted and pranced across the banners. Though there was no wind, they flapped and moved slightly.

Sirius smirked broadly. "What else can we do?" he asked the others. Peter thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Let's hex their seats so that when they sit down, their hair turns red and gold and they say good things about Gryffindor," he suggested. Sirius let out a bark of laughter and clapped Peter on the back, nearly knocking him over.

"Good idea, Wormy," he said. Sniggering unpleasantly, the four immediately set to implementing Peter's plan, the others occasionally suggesting ideas that they happily agreed to. Finally, they admired the fruits of their labour.

The pink flags proudly emblazoned with unicorns occasionally said in tinny voices things like "Gryffindor rules!" or "Lions for the cup!" The chairs were absolutely covered in spells; the table glittered very slightly, waiting for food to be placed there; and every single thing, plates, utensils, table, chairs, and - once they sat on the chairs - the Slytherins were pink and squeaked things for Gryffindor like their banner.

James observed the place. "I think we're done here," he said with a smirk. Laughing, the four boys escaped back to the common room, waiting impatiently for the night's meal.

* * *

The papers were torn down and burned within an hour. Lily, exhausted but pleased, made her way down to dinner, yawning occasionally. Marlene and Mary were on either side of her, bickering loudly.

"All I'm saying," Marlene said irritably. "Is that the Chudley Cannons are about the worst team on the league."

"They are not," Mary insisted. Lily scowled and tuned the two girls out as she sat down and grabbed some pudding. It took her a second to realise Marlene was shrieking with laughter and Mary was calling her name. Irritated, Lily looked up only for her mouth to drop.

Every single Slytherin was standing on their table, brilliantly pink, wearing frilly dresses bedecked with bows and ribbons, and shouting praises to Gryffindor as they did an awkward dance. The students on the table closest to them ducked as food was sent flying everywhere, splattering the Slytherins even more.

"Gryffindors are the best!" A boy that Lily recognised with a pang as Severus Snape screamed at the top of his lungs while doing an undignified can-can. While dancing furiously and wincing in agony with every kick of his legs, he kicked a bowl of pudding up that hit a Ravenclaw in the face.

"Hey!" the girl shouted. She furiously tossed the pudding back at him, but it missed and splattered a Hufflepuff who had been crossing the room. The boy threw a trifle back at her, but it too missed and hit a Gryffindor. Two seconds later, the entire Great Hall – with the exception of the dancing Slytherins – was embroiled in a food fight.

Lily found herself hiding under the table with the company of Mary, who seemed more concerned with not getting food on her robes than anything else. Marlene, screaming war cries, was standing on the table and flinging food for all she was worth. Lily spotted James and Sirius pelting the enraged Slytherins - who were now waltzing ungracefully – with food and cackling at their helpless fury.

At the Head table, McGonagall was shouting in a vain attempt to stop the fight, while the rest of the teachers seemed more concerned about not getting hit by food. Professor Dumbledore reclined in his seat, watching the proceedings with an amused gaze. Professor Flitwick's small frame was positively covered with food and he squeaked in dismay.

"I – am – going – _kill – him!_" Lily shouted with difficulty to Mary, ducking a peppermint humbug that hit a Hufflepuff in the ear. He whirled and tossed it at Marlene, under the impression she threw it. The two immediately started throwing food at each other, Marlene still screaming war cries. "Those _idiots!"_

Mary was watching Snape unhappily dance with his partner, a boy who was literally spitting with rage and covered in potatoes. She cackled and elbowed Lily as Snape dipped the boy in an ungainly manner and fell off the table, skinny legs flailing wildly under his pink dress.

"Gryffindor is better than Slytherin!" a girl screeched as she wildly kicked her legs in a clumsy approximation of a can-can. Mary winced as the fabric of her beribboned dress ripped badly and she too fell off the table.

The charm seemed to be wearing off; the Slytherins were starting to stop dancing and none of them were shouting things about Gryffindor anymore, though they looked positively enraged. Lily spotted Snape, spitting with rage, raise his wand to hex James before a large bowl filled with an unpleasant liquid smacked him in the face. However, they were still a dazzling shade of pink, and not a button or frill of their dresses had disappeared, much to their fury and the rest of the hall's amusement.

Above, fireworks began to go off, the deafening blasts startling the students out of their fight. They all halted and stared up at the ceiling, where the lights were twisting to form recognisable words. Lily groaned as she read the words they formed.

_Tonight's entertainment is courtesy of the Marauders._

Lily glanced around, searching for the pranksters. She found them in the middle of the hall – they had created a makeshift fort and had a plethora of ammunition inside. Sirius had frozen, a large pudding still absurdly levitating, his wand pointed at it, large smirk plastered all over his face as he watched the Slytherins point at the ceiling.

Lily heard Mary mutter a spell under her breath and laughed quietly as the pudding propelled itself at Sirius. He had only a second for his eyes to widen before his handsome features were splattered with goop.

Lily stood and gave the four boys her most deadly glare. They all seemed to wilt at the sight of her and James tried to slink out of the hall.

"POTTER!"

* * *

Author's Notes: I, unfortunately, don't have any more finished, so it might take a little bit longer than usual to update. Still, I hope to update this story at least once a day. Please, review and tell me what you thought of it. I can't tell you how happy your reviews make me. I hope it was decent.

Once again, thank you all for reading!


	6. Mary

_**Author's Notes: Thank you all again for the reviews! They make me so happy! Again, the Harry Potter series definitely doesn't belong to me. I hope there aren't too many grammar or spelling mistakes in this. **_

_**Also, I planned to update this once a day, but I just realised that I'm going to be very busy all of tomorrow and maybe the next day too. I'm going to post two chapters on the same day but I probably won't update tomorrow. Sorry. So here it is, and I hope it's okay.**_

_**

* * *

**_

Mary walked down the abandoned corridor, her only company the sound of her footfalls. She hummed slightly and adjusted her book bag on her shoulder. Any thoughts of the mysterious letters had been driven from her mind by the night's ridiculous events. Mary shook her head, a small smile curling the corners of her lips.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she never saw the figure that stepped out from behind a suit of armor, nor did she feel the sting of a spell until it was too late. She flew back and slammed into the wall. All she heard was a loud crack, then the world went black.

* * *

Lily watched the four boys escape an hour later with a look of supreme satisfaction on her face. They half sprinted out of the room, their heads bowed, thoroughly cowed by both Professor McGonagall's and Lily's scolding.

The professor had been furious, as had Lily, who had received a face full of clotted cream – courtesy of James.

Lily stood gracefully and nodded to Professor McGonagall, then exited after the boys. She shook her head in disgust and headed down to the Great Hall with the other Prefects. Of course, those stupid boys got off with only a detention and a stern warning while the Prefects had to clean up after them. Her scowl intensified.

_Stupid bloody Potter and his stupid bloody friends…_

She kept up the mental rant until she reached the Great Hall. She sat down hard and stared in complete shock. She'd known it was bad… but this…

Every single inch of exposed space was positively covered in food. Desserts splattered all of the tables; mashed food coated-

"Everything?" she said incredulously. "_Everything?_"

A Prefect looked up from where he was carefully waving his wand. Food floated around him like an insane halo.

"Yes," he said calmly. "They destroyed virtually everything. Annoying pests."

"I quite agree," Lily muttered, still staring around in shock. "Oh, this will take _hours _to clean up!" she wailed.

"Not with magic," the boy said. Lily's face suffused with a bright crimson.

"Ah…well… Scourgify!" she said loudly, waving her wand at the food covered wall in an attempt to cover for her embarrassment. The food disappeared – as did the wall. Lily – if possible – went an even brighter red. "That wasn't what I meant to do…" she muttered.

"That effect comes from overzealous movement of the wrist," the Prefect boy said serenely. "Would you like me to show you?"

"Er- sure," Lily said quietly, sure that her face couldn't go even redder than it already was. The brown-haired stepped forward and gently grabbed her wrist. Lily blushed slightly. He raised her arm slightly and flicked it. The wall shimmered back into place, though still food coated.

"Now," he said, deep voice quiet. "You carefully raise your hand and flick." He demonstrated it and she smiled when the food vanished completely.

"Oh," Lily squeaked. "T-thank you."

The boy nodded gracefully. "You are welcome." With that, the odd boy walked off, raising his wand and cleaning one of the tables.

Lily watched him go, brow furrowed with curiosity.

"Who's he?" she ventured to her fellow Prefect in the year, a boy named Emmett Smith. He glanced over at her in confusion.

"Who?" he queried, looking around. She nodded at the boy who had helped her.

"Oh. He's a Ravenclaw Prefect – I think his name is Lucas…something… Grant, maybe."

"Oh," she said. "He's nice…"

Emmett gave her an odd look, but nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty pleasant normally – he never starts fights like the Slytherin Prefects." He scowled irritably at the thought of them.

Lily shook herself from her reverie and raised her wand again, careful to gently flick her wrist. The entire table glowed slightly, then all the food that had been splattered on it disappeared. She repeated the spell several times, not really even thinking about it.

_Ugh… I hate James… can't believe he made this mess…such a bloody jerk…_

She stretched and yawned as the last bit of their dinner vanished. The other Prefects cheered, some of them clapping the others on the backs.

"Oh thank Merlin," Lily said exhaustedly. "Now I can finally go to sleep…"

"Thanks, Evans," the Head Boy said. "You all can go now. Thanks for the help."

She nodded at him, then half asleep, wandered out of the Great Hall into the corridor beyond.

_I hope Mary and Marlene did their homework like I told them too… if they didn't, I'm never helping them again…I hope I didn't waste my time by drawing out schedules… it would be just like those stupid buggers to throw them in the trash…_

She was so engaged in her thoughts that she didn't even register the crumpled body near the wall until she had nearly walked into it. Lily stifled a scream of shock and jumped back a step. There was a splashing sound and she instinctually looked down. She let out a little wail of horror.

A deep red liquid soaked her shoes and the edge of her robes. As she watched, it further stained her robes and she felt certain that the crimson stains would not come out. Lily choked and leapt back, breathing hard. She felt as though she had been immersed in icy water and her breath was coming faster and faster. She panted, frozen for a second, until a single, crystal clear thought occurred.

She had to help the injured person.

She ran forward, feet splashing loudly in the silent corridor, and kneeled by the person, reaching to roll them over. The second she touched them, there was a jarring noise like a bell and she'd been sent flying. She hit the wall and slid down it. For a moment, her vision was spotty and there was a ringing in her ears.

She shook her head blearily, then started crawling back only to freeze in shock. In the air surrounding the girl, scarlet words floated around her, each of them reading _Mudblood. _The bell-like noise still had not stopped – on the contrary, it sounded like it was getting louder. Lily clapped her hands over her ears in pain as the whining noise grew to a painful pitch.

"What's happening here?" someone bellowed from a distance. Lily could barely hear them, and when she turned to look, they seemed oddly blurry. Then they loomed closer and Lily let out a relieved breath she didn't even know she'd been holding.

"James!" she shouted. "Get a teacher – or someone!"

He barely hesitated before whirling around and sprinting. Lily pressed herself into the corner. The piercing shriek felt like it was burrowing a spike into her brain.

"Stop!" she wailed. "Just stop it!"

As though it had been waiting for those words, the screaming noise abruptly halted. Slowly, as if suspecting a trick, Lily lowered her hands from her ears. Her ears still rang and she had the worst headache she'd ever experienced… but it had stopped. She slumped in relief.

"There was this really loud noise and Evans yelled to get help!"

Lily whirled to see James bounding towards her, tiny Professor Flitwick bobbing in his wake.

"Evans!" he said, looking around. His voice sounded strange in the sudden silence. "The noise stopped. Did you do that?"

"Never mind that," she said hastily, standing and pointing in the corner. "Help them! I can't get near."

Flitwick gave her a penetrating look, then hurried to the person's side. "She isn't badly injured," he squeaked. "But she's unconscious. Locomotor Mortis!"

The girl levitated into the air, arms dangling at her sides. Lily watched, still in shock, as Professor Flitwick conjured a stretcher and floated the girl onto it. She sank to her knees as what looked like blood dripped from the girl's hand as they moved out of sight.

"Alright, Evans?" It was James' concerned voice that reached her ears and more than anything, it helped her regain her composure. She gulped wordlessly for a second before summoning her voice.

"Y-yeah…" she mumbled, looking down. "I hope that girl is okay."

"She will be," James said with confidence. Lily shivered.

"How can you know that?" she demanded, refusing to accept false comfort.

"I got a good look at her," James answered. "I think she's just been stunned."

"Then what's all this?" Lily said almost angrily. She gestured wildly at the blood.

"I think that's some kind of paint," James said, inspecting the drenched walls. Lily concentrated on slowing her breathing, then took a careful look at it too. James dabbed a finger in the puddle, then held it up to the light for her to inspect it. "Yep. Paint."

"Good," Lily murmured. "Good." She glanced up sharply at him. "You said you got a good look at her. Who was it?"

"Ah, Evans," he said uncomfortably. Almost unconsciously he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Who was it?"

"Mary is a Muggleborn, isn't she?" he asked. Lily's breathing seemed to stop.

"Mary?" she croaked. He nodded, confirming it. The world seemed oddly dark and she swayed.

"Lily? Lily!" James' voice seemed to come from far away indeed.

The blackness that had been hovering in the corners of her vision swooped in to claim her, and Lily toppled.

* * *

James sat near Lily's bed in the Hospital Wing, concentrating on listening to her breathing. In and out, in and out… He slowed his own breathing to match hers and traced her features with his eyes. Her lovely face was peaceful and quiet and her hand that he gripped with both of his was still.

He knew that if she were awake she probably would have slapped him for holding her hand, but she wasn't awake – that was what worried him.

Madam Pomfrey had declared that she had a bad shock and needed plenty of rest and comfort with a sympathetic look on her face. She had fiercely told James that if Lily awoke, to _wake the nurse up_. James inadvertently shivered at the remembrance of the look on her face. Madam Pomfrey could be quite intimidating when she wanted to.

Mary lay in the bed opposite them. Her robes had been slashed to tatters with a Severing Charm, she had been Stunned, slammed into a wall, and doused with the same red paint that had been used to deface Lily's books. All in all, she was doing well for what had happened.

Once again, James closed his eyes and listened to Lily's peaceful breathing.

The doors to the Hospital Wing opened stealthily and closed again. James wouldn't have even realised what had happened had not one of the hinges squeaked loudly. James whirled around, wand already out and ready.

Severus Snape froze, his hand inches away from drawing his wand.

"Come to finish them off, did you, Snivellus?" James shouted, advancing on the still boy. Snape still didn't seem to be able to speak; he stared at James with a wide-eyed expression and opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"You treacherous, traitor scum! I suppose breaking Lily's heart wasn't enough; you had to go and attack her friends!" James bellowed, bearing down on him. Snape unfroze.

"I didn't attack her!" he shouted back, and James felt a perverse satisfaction that he was fighting back now. "I didn't do that - I didn't-"

"Well, you certainly broke her heart!" James sneered. "What she ever saw in you, I can't imagine. Now get out before I hex you!"

"I don't need to justify myself to you, you arrogant, bullying toe rag! I just ca-came to s-see her…" Snape looked unbearably awkward at the words he just uttered.

"I don't care! Get ou-"

"Stop it."

James turned to see Lily sitting up in bed, her green eyes wide. "Stop it," she repeated.

"How-how long have you been awake?" James stuttered.

"Long enough," she replied, pushing her blankets aside and making to stand.

"Lay back down!" James said, hurrying towards her, holding out his hands beseechingly. Her face hardened.

"Don't tell me what to do, Potter," she said dangerously, eyes flashing. She transferred her cool look to Snape, who had the distinct look of a deer in the headlights.

"I-I-" he stuttered.

"Sev…"

For a second, her face softened and Snape looked so unbearably hopeful that James longed to hex him into jelly.

"Sev, please leave…"

"But Lily-"

"But nothing. You lost your chance when you called me a Mudblood."

James spluttered for a second. "Don't say that," he muttered, but neither of them paid any attention to him. After a second, Snape dropped his gaze and slunk out the door. James watched as Lily's lips trembled, then her face crumpled.

She buried her face in her hands and he could hear muffled cries coming from her.

"Lily…"

"Leave me alone, Potter," she snapped, sounding more like normal, though he could hear the tremble in her voice. "I don't know why you came… we both know that all you want me to be is a t-trophy girlfriend…" her voice cracked again and she buried her face again, hiccoughing.

"Lily, that's not true," he said softly, longing desperately to comfort her.

"Yes it is, Potter!" she said, looking up once again, the old fiery spark in her eyes once again. "Why else would you constantly ask me to go out with you? Why else would you prank me? Why else would you constantly hex my b-best friend when I said no?W-why?" She rolled over and stared stonily away from him, though he could hear the soft sniffles.

Knowing there was nothing else he could say, James lowered his head and left the Hospital Wing, feeling worse than he had ever felt before.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Thank you for reading. Please, I would love it if you could review. Constructive criticism would be great – I'm always looking to improve. Thanks!**_


	7. Dare

_**Author's Notes: Again, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Thank you again for reviews! I love reading how you feel and I hope you enjoy the chapter. If you spot grammar or spelling mistakes, please, feel free to tell me. Thank you!**_

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"We need to prank the Slytherins again!" Sirius said excitedly, bouncing up and down on the bed. Grinning, he looked over at James, who was sprawled on his own bed and staring blankly at the ceiling.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked, dropping his normal insensitive manner. James shrugged moodily.

"Go ahead. Prank the Slytherins. Haha," he said flatly.

Sirius stared at him, aghast. Never had James not taken interest in a prank before. His eyes narrowed, then he started to grin.

"Does this have anything to do with a certain girl named Lil-" Sirius started to say in a mocking tone, the beginnings of a smirk curling his lips.

"No!" James snapped, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "It _doesn't_! Now leave me alone!"

Now everyone in the room had gone silent and still, staring at him in shock. James shoved past them all to the door, knocking Peter into a pile of books. Ignoring the pained yelps behind him, James stomped from the room, distantly aware that he was acting like a moody child.

After a stunned second, the Marauders converged on one another, chattering loudly and eager to stop whatever had James acting like a child.

* * *

"Let's look at how he's acting and when it started," Remus said sensibly. "He doesn't want to join in on pranks. He hasn't asked Lily out once. He doesn't hex Snivellus or anyone else. He has more mood swings than a thirteen year old girl. Hmm…"

"I hate to say it," Sirius announced solemnly. "But I think he's pregnant."

The others stared at him before snorting in a most undignified way.

"I doubt that's the reason," Remus said after a second, rolling his eyes. "This period of idiocy started after Mary and Lily were in the Hospital Wing-"

"He had a pregnancy test and it was positive!" Sirius announced. Remus and Peter shared a glance, then slapped him on the back of the head in unison. "Owww…"whined Sirius, rubbing his head gingerly. "Why are you so_ mean_?"

"Because you're an idiot," Peter said with a roll of his eyes.

"No, _you're_ an idiot, Wormy," Sirius retorted immaturely. Peter scowled, then he and Remus turned their backs to him and began to discuss James again.

"I don't think-"

"No, that was before-"

"_Woooormy,"_ Sirius said in an annoyingly nasal tone. They ignored him. "Mooooony!" he drew out the nicknames loudly. Sirius noted with a smirk that Remus hunched his shoulders – a sure sign of annoyance when it came to him.

"Mooooony!"

"But I thought he asked Evans out that one time-"

"No, he did that after the food fight-"

"Mooooooony!"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Remus exploded. He whirled and launched himself at Sirius, knocking the bigger boy off the bed and slamming him into Peter's bed. "Shut up!"

The two boys wrestled for a minute, rolling around on the floor and throwing the occasional punch. Sirius gained the upper hand and shoved Remus off and into the wall. The werewolf shook his head dazedly, then leapt at Sirius and smacked his head on the side of Peter's bed again.

Peter, who had been watching from the sidelines, scowled. "Oi!" he called. "Not my bed, you bloody idiots!"

He watched as Sirius managed to pin Remus, who was far smaller, on the ground with his arms twisted behind his back.

"Not fair!" Remus complained, though his voice was slightly muffled by the fact his face was buried in the floor.

"Give up yet?" Sirius asked with a feral grin.

"No," Remus countered. Sirius twisted his arms a little more. "Ow, ow, oww! Okay, I give up! Let me up, you great lump."

Sirius leapt off of him with a bark of laughter. Remus, scowling and slightly embarrassed, returned to his perch on his bed. He made an attempt at a dignified look – something that was slightly ruined by Sirius making obscene gestures from behind him. Remus whacked him with a pillow before making a brave attempt to return to conversation to James.

"_Anyhow_," Remus said with an almighty glare at Sirius, who merely smirked and reclined further on his bed. "I think that-"

"He's pregnant?" Sirius interrupted.

"No-"

"He's been abducted by aliens?"

"No!"

"He and Evans are secretly shagging?"

"Definitely not!" Remus said, looking inches away from battering Sirius to death with his pillow. Peter grinned.

"I heard Snape tried to visit her. Do you think he'd be so thick as to hex old Snivellus and Evans-"

"That's it!" Sirius proclaimed delightedly. "He cursed Snivellus and in return, Evans hexed his bits off!"

In unison, all three boys winced. "No, I don't think that's it," Remus said. "But I do think that perhaps he yelled at Snivelly and Evans screamed at him… but he's pretty used to that, I would expect. I don't know…"

"I told you already," Sirius said with an air of explaining it to a toddler. Remus and Peter gave him a deadly look, daring him to continue. Sirius didn't seem to understand this, and opened his mouth again. "He's pre-"

Before he could even utter another word, both Peter and Remus snapped. They both launched themselves at him and began to punch him furiously. The three of them rolled around, a whirling ball of fists and shouted curses.

In the corner, hidden under a silvery cloak, a tall figure sat, arms wrapped around his knees as he listened to his friends.

* * *

Marlene never understood what Lily saw in Severus Snape. It certainly wasn't his looks. He had greasy black hair that curtained his sallow face, his teeth were slightly yellowed and crooked, and his nose was hooked and greasier than his hair. No, it definitely wasn't his looks.

Marlene highly doubted it was his sparkling personality either. The few times she had attempted to speak with him, she was sharply rebuffed. When she had insulted him, hoping to get a rise, he had hexed with boils. It wasn't his personality either.

And it _definitely_ wasn't the friends he had. Marlene still remembered in horror the 'incident' a few years ago with Mary. Mulciber and Avery especially were unpleasant and cruel. It wasn't his friends, it wasn't his personality, and it wasn't his looks.

Marlene was utterly bewildered as to why Lily even cared, and was not afraid to voice the opinion from where she lay on her bed and watched Mary comfort the sniffling Lily. Mary shot her a nasty look, but far from getting angry, as Marlene had half expected, Lily merely sighed and lowered her head.

"He… he was my first friend. He was the one who told me I was a witch. He was the one who stuck by my side when Tuney decided to hate me. And he was so intelligent… his conversations were far more stimulating than James Potter can probably even imagine…" she propped up her head on her hands and stared into the distance.

"I think you should just give Potter a chance…" Mary said, patting Lily comfortingly on the back. The girl only sniffed in reply. Taking this as a cue to continue, she pressed on. "I mean, he's handsome and pretty sweet-"

"Mary, he was ghastly to me and Sev until third year, when I had a bit of a figure and he realised I was a girl. Then all he could say to me was 'Go out with me, Evans'-"

Marlene snorted with laughter as her friend affected a deep voice in mockery of Potter.

"Then, when I said no, he would take it out on Sev! He's terrible. I wouldn't go on a date with him in a million years! Even if I were dared to, I don't think I could. I hate him," she moaned into her pillow. "He's a terrible specimen of humanity…" she trailed off miserably.

Marlene saw the beginnings of a smirk on Mary's face.

"No! No, no, no!" she said sharply. The smug little look didn't even diminish. Lily, who hadn't even heard her, wiped her eyes on her pillow.

"Oh Lily… What do you think about wizarding dares?"

* * *

Lily ground her teeth furiously. "I hate you, Mary," she whispered furiously. She was sure her face was bright red.

"I know," Mary said cheerily. "It was either this or streak through the Great Hall at breakfast screaming obscenities."

Lily flinched at the reminder. "I hate you so very much, Macdonald."

"Oh, so it's surnames now, is it?" her friend gaily returned. She pointed at James. "Well then, there he is, Evans."

Lily let out a little wail and fell to her knees, clutching at Mary's robes. She was aware of how silly she looked, but if it could get her out of this… Lily was absolutely spitting with rage at the moment.

She remembered how, intrigued as to what wizarding dares were like, she had agreed to accept one of the dares. She had never dreamed that her friend could be so canny – or cruel. She let out a scream of misery.

"Please, Mary," she begged. "Please, cancel the dare! You're the only one who can do it – please, save me!"

Grinning, the pretty brunette girl shook her head. "Nope," she announced cheerily. "You have to go through on this."

Lily threw back her head and screamed.

James trudged slowly down to the Entrance Hall. Suddenly, he glanced up to see a girl with fiery hair and a furious expression. He almost grinned. It seemed as though his Lily-radar still worked. She stomped up to him, looking angrier than he had ever seen her – and he had once turned her pink and slipped her a Babbling potion. He winced in remembrance.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately as she halted in front of him. "But whatever you think I did, I di-"

"Shut it, Potter," she snapped. He could hear her teeth grinding and her face was almost as red as her hair.

"Okay," James said cautiously, eyeing her as if waiting for her to explode. All around them, students had stopped and were gathering in preparation for one of the biggest fights yet. He could hear some of them betting how much of Hogwarts they would obliterate. "Do you need something?"

She flinched as though his words had been a cracking whip. She mumbled something so quietly he couldn't make it out. "What was that?" he asked her, tilting his head. Though he hadn't thought it possible, her face went even redder.

"Go out with me to Hogsmeade!" she burst out after a second. Every single jaw in earshot dropped in stunned disbelief, but not James. He blinked at her. He waited. He smiled, knowing perfectly well it was a joke.

"And the punchline is….?" He asked, waiting patiently. She flushed.

"There is no punchline," she spat. "Go out with me."

"Evans… are you serious?" James asked. Slowly, as if it pained her to do it, she nodded. "Yes!" he screamed. He leapt at her, engulfing her in a tight embrace while leaping around. "Yes, yes, YES!"

He released her and danced around. He noticed her face steadily getting angrier, but was in too much bliss to pay much attention. "YES! My charm and wit has finally paid off!" he shouted joyfully.

The last thing he saw before a small fist collided with his nose was her furious face.

* * *

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading. _**This is kind of an odd one, but don't worry. Six or so years of hate definitely won't just disappear on one date. Please review – I really do love hearing what you think. Again, thanks!**_


	8. Preparation

_**Author's Notes: Thank you very, very much for reviewing! I hope this chapter is okay. Please, I would love it if you could take a second to review! Thanks.**_

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Lily lay on her bed, concentrating only on breathing. Or at least _attempting_ to concentrate only on breathing.

_I'm going on a date with Potter. I'm going on a _date_ with Potter. I'M GOING ON A DATE WITH _POTTER!

She started breathing hard, shaking slightly.

_Don't panic, don't panic…_

She let out a pitiful little whimper and sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees. Mary, who was filing her nails and gazing into a mirror, glanced over at her.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked.

"No, I am not bloody well alright," Lily snapped. "I'm going on a date with _James Potter. _How could _anything _be alright?"

Mary sighed and shook her head. Marlene, who was flipping through a Quidditch magazine, tossed it aside to glare at Lily.

"Why are you so buggering mad about this?" she demanded. "It's just a date! If James Potter asked _me_ out on a date, I would be delighted!" she threw her hands up in dismay. "And now you've made me drop my magazine," she muttered disgustedly, getting off her bed to crawl around on the floor.

Mary rolled her eyes at Marlene, but had been watching Lily carefully through her rant.

"I think I know why you're so upset," Mary said, carefully choosing her words and watching Lily craftily out of the corner of her eyes.

Lily sat up sharply and gave her cautious look. "What do you mean?"

"I think," Mary said slowly, as if to lessen the blow. "That you're afraid of being wrong."

Lily blinked. "What?" she asked confusedly, having not expected Mary to say something like _that_.

"You're so set in your ways, Lily. Potter is arrogant and bad. Lily is righteous and good. You don't want to be proven wrong about James," Mary shook her head, a look of kind amusement on her face. "You just don't want to be wrong."

"I-what-? No – no, that's not right at all!" Lily protested weakly. Mary gave her a gentle little smile that seemed entirely too understanding.

"It's _not,_" Lily insisted. Mary gave her that infuriating smile again.

"If you insist," Mary said, languidly stretching on her bed. Lily shot her a nasty look. Muttering rude things about 'interfering prats', Lily lay back down. Her eyes had barely closed when the door to the dormitory swung open with a deafening crash.

Mary squealed loudly and dropped the torture implement – or so Lily thought – that she was grinding her nails with and Marlene swore and tried to jump to her feet, forgetting she was crawling under her bed. Clarice Hawkins ignored her pained shrieks as she strode across the small room and shoved a finger at Lily's chest, causing her to stumble.

"Clarice, what are you-"

"Did I hear correctly?" the blonde demanded, shoving her finger at Lily. "_You_ are going on a date with James Potter?"

Lily gave her an uneasy look. "If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at _that_ prat over there," she said, pointing at Mary, who tried to look innocent. Marlene crawled out from under her bed, still mumbling curses. Clarice ignored her.

"You idiotic little-little- scarlet woman!" she burst out. Lily raised an eyebrow, but didn't get a chance to speak. Clarice pressed on."I still can't believe James would have even the slightest bit of interest in you! You're not pretty – in fact you're positively hideous compared to me!" she screeched.

Still rubbing her head, Marlene leapt to her feet. "You bumbling top-heavy idiot!" she said angrily. "Apparently everything went to your oversized chest rather than your brains!" Clarice spluttered furiously, but Marlene wasn't finished. "If you had even had more brains than could fit in a tea cup, you would have realised that Lily isn't interested in James – not that he'd ever be interested in you!"

Clarice looked simply furious. She raised her delicate hand and slapped Marlene, long red nails leaving bloody furrows in her skin. Lily and Mary inched away from the two, anticipating the explosion. Marlene still hadn't moved.

Slowly – in a way that was utterly terrifying – Marlene turned her head back to give Clarice the most deadly glare Lily had ever seen. Too late, Clarice seemed to realise her mistake. Babbling apologies, she backed away from Marlene, who was still unmoving apart from her frightening glower.

Clarice let out a little squeak, then made a break for it. She turned and ran out of the room, Marlene diving after her. After a moment, Mary returned to filing her nails and Lily flopped back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling distractedly, green eyes vague.

"I didn't know Clarice liked James," the red-head said quietly. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Lily, are you blind?" Mary caught sight of her look. "Sorry Lily – but yes, she's always liked him. Pity. I'd watch my back if I were you," Mary said, gazing into the mirror. "She's nasty when angry. She doesn't usually just blow up like that – she waits, then stabs you in the back when you least expect it. I'd check all your foods for poisons."

"Oh, ha ha," said Lily moodily, rolling over.

"I'm serious," Mary said darkly. "Once, another girl seduced Clarice's boyfriend away from her… it wasn't pretty. They were cleaning blood off the library books for weeks. I'm surprised you don't remember it," she directed at Lily with a raise of her eyebrow. To her surprise, Lily let out a low snarl.

"If you don't remember why, I certainly do," Lily snapped, glaring at Mary's mirror. "I was serving my first detention_ ever_ because of _Potter,_" she spoke the name like a malediction and saw Mary's reflection shiver in the mirror. "I hate you, Mary. But I hate Potter so much more – how am I going to survive on this date?"

"I think," Mary said cautiously. "That – this is going to sound so clichéd – you should just be yourself. Hex him when he gets too – er – presumptuous; chide him when he breaks rules. You'd feel awkward otherwise."

"Good advice for the one who set me _up_ on this date," Lily said unhappily. Mary rolled her eyes. It was obvious she wouldn't be getting over this anytime soon.

"Oooh," Mary said suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her. She sprang to her feet, looking positively delighted. "Oooh! I've just remembered!"

"What are you 'ooh'ing about?" Lily asked worriedly, sitting up and hunching over, clutching her wand protectively. Her friend actually giggled and spun around the room, golden hair fluttering around her. Lily felt dizzy just watching her.

The door to the dormitory opened and a sullen looking Marlene entered. Her eyes were still narrowed and she looked more likely to breathe fire than a dragon.

"Ah…murdered Clarice yet?" Mary asked timidly, having frozen at the noise of the door. At the words, Marlene looked even surlier.

"I wish," she spat. "But some goody-two shoes Prefect caught me ripping chunks of her hair out," she said. She made a disgusted face. "I believe Clarice pulled him into a broom closet to – how should I say this – 'thank him for helping her!'" she put on a high, breathy voice. Mary and Lily giggled.

Marlene threw herself onto the bed and hit her head on the wall. Ignoring her swearing, Lily returned her attention to Mary.

"What were you saying when Marlene burst in?" Lily asked. At the words Mary let out a little giggle, then skipped – _skipped_ – across the room to Marlene. Lily had rarely seen her friend look so frivolous. She whispered something into Marlene's ear.

The eyes of both girls' snapped to Lily and focused. Feeling uneasy, Lily scooted back until she hit the wall. With a nasty little grin Marlene went over to her trunk to rummage in it. Mary bounced over to Lily, smiling in a sweet way that in _no_ way set Lily at ease.

"What are you two planning?" Lily demanded. She was rather embarrassed to hear her voice had gone high. She almost squeaked the words – Lily could have hit herself.

"Lily, stop hitting yourself with your Divination book," Mary said, prying the book from Lily's grasp. Lily backed away and brandished her wand at Mary.

"Sorry, Mary, but I really don't trust you at the moment," Lily said, waving her wand in a semi-threatening way. Mary smiled beatifically at her in a way that seemed far too confident. Lily had just opened her mouth to ask her what she was planning when there was a loud _crack_. Lily's wand flew out of her hand and hit the window. Marlene smirked at her from the corner, wand still raised.

"Ah, Lily," Marlene said almost tauntingly, brown eyes glinting with humour. "You should have learned by now – never turn your back on me."

Lily let out an indignant squeak.

Marlene twirled the heavy object she had retrieved from her trunk. Far too late, Lily realised what it was – a Beater's bat.

"Now," the brunette went on. "We could just stun you if you refuse to comply. But I was cheated a good fight and Mary promised me that if you resist…" she left in dangling and waved her bat threateningly, adding a wink for good measure. Lily glared.

"Threatened, tricked, possible bodily violence – what's next, blackmail?"

"Actually, we were planning on using that Tuesday," Mary said with a flippant little grin. Lily gave her an evil look.

"With friends like you…"

"Who needs enemies," Marlene finished. She twirled her Beater's bat and grinned. "So, Lily. Will you agree to our demands or will you need… _convincing?"_

"I don't even know what you want!" Lily protested weakly. Marlene took a step forward.

"Ah!" said Mary, stepping hastily between the two. "Let's not get carried away now," she said with a dry glare at Marlene, who merely shrugged, tossing her bat from hand to hand. Mary transferred her glare to Lily who – wandless, threatened, and hopelessly confused – couldn't help but shrink back into the corner.

"Now Lily," Mary said earnestly, leaning forward. "We don't want to hurt you, really-"

"Speak for yourself," Marlene grumbled. Mary ignored her.

"We want to _help_ you! This will all benefit you! You just need to _listen _to me," Mary pressed her. Lily folded her arms defensively across her chest.

"I don't even know what you want!" she protested. "I might do it if I knew – but you won't tell me!"

Suddenly, identical evil smiles cracked across the faces of Mary and Marlene.

"We," Mary said with a grin. "Want to make sure you look the best you possibly can for your date!"

"No," Lily said instantly. "No, no, _no!_ I don't want to dress up for my d-date with Potter. That's my final answer."

"Oh really?" Mary asked, making a show of looking sad. Beside her, Marlene twirled her bat again. "That's a shame. Marlene? You know what to do."

"No!" Lily protested, pushing herself further into the corner, eyes darting around for an escape route. Marlene bore down on her, grinning fiendishly.

"I'll do it!" Lily groaned as Marlene made a show of raising the bat slowly. "I-I'll let you treat me like a mannequin. Just don't hit me with that bloody bat or I'll hex your ears off-"

Squealing, both girls converged on Lily. She flailed around, screaming obscenities as they powdered her face and clumsily applied makeup while she thrashed about.

The only one not laughing was the pale-blonde figure standing unobtrusively in the doorway.

* * *

James lay very still in bed. What was decidedly_ not_ still was his mind, which was still screaming one thing: _I'm going on a date with Lily Evans!_

His three friends were all crowded around him, worrying if he was alright. Normally, James would still be dancing around while screaming, and while their eardrums thanked him for it, they weren't sure what to do. It was finally Sirius who spoke.

"Mate?" he said hesitantly, eyes watching James intently. "Is there something wrong…?"

"Wrong?" James looked up at him dreamily. "How could there ever be something wrong?"

By his blissful look, the rest of the Marauders half expected him to start singing while birds fluttered from the trees to perch on him. Instead he returned to staring at the ceiling, beatific smile still firmly in place. The three exchanged glances that clearly said 'He's mad.' They retreated, sneaking glances at him as they moved to the other side of the room.

"Do you think he's okay? I mean – she hasn't broken a shard of his skull into his brain when she punched him, has she?" This, of course, was Sirius. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt it," he said with a snort. He returned to looking serious after a second. "I knew he'd be happy if she did eventually accept," he whispered. "But this…I'm starting to think we should take him to Madam Pomfrey to make sure she didn't knock a screw loose."

"But James isn't one of those rodot things," Sirius said with a frown. Remus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's not what I me- actually, that's exactly what I meant, Sirius. James is a rodot."

Sirius looked triumphant while Peter settled for confusion.

"But-"he started, but Remus cut him off with an impatient hand wave.

"I think the shock of Evans asking for a date made him go mad," Remus said with a firm nod. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"James isn't a nutter," Peter protested loyally. "He's just really, really…really excited…"

"Peter," Sirius said with a frown. "He was leaping around the dormitory for an hour screaming 'I'm on a date with Evans!' before collapsing on his bed and staring at the ceiling for another hour. That screams nutter to me."

"Er… he was just…happy…"Peter said weakly.

_Nutter_, Sirius mouthed at the two of them. Remus nodded in tacit agreement while Peter looked dubious.

Behind them, James giggled. The others froze, then slowly turned to look at him. James looked as if he might take off from the ground and float. His eyes were wide and happy and he walked around the room in a daze.

Again, Sirius mouthed the word 'nutter' at the other two. This time, Peter didn't protest.

* * *

**_Author's Notes: I'm so sorry! No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get the date in there – I've decided I want a whole chapter devoted to it. I promise that the next one will be the date. Thanks again for reading and please review!_**


	9. Date

_**Author's Notes: I'm so worried about this chapter! I'm rather concerned that it didn't turn out very well, but I hope it's decent. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I would love to hear what you think of this chapter. Thanks!**_

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* * *

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The day Lily had been dreading arrived with indecent haste. She stood, wobbling in three-inch platform shoes, and glaring at Mary and Marlene. Marlene was carefully applying mascara, much to Lily's horror, and she accidently stabbed Lily in the eye every time she moved. Lily stood rod-ram straight, eyes closed in fear of being jabbed in the eye again.

"Done!" Mary announced at length, turning Lily around to look at the full-length mirror. Lily kept her eyes firmly closed. "Come on, Lily," Mary wheedled. "We spent so much effort… for you to not appreciate it…it would terribly hurt our feelings..."

Lily sighed deeply but her guilty feelings forced her to open her eyes. Her jaw promptly dropped and she walked forward slowly, still staring into the mirror.

Lily's normally wild and tangled red hair had been elegantly curled and hung down to shoulders, much to her surprise. She winced instinctually when she looked at her eyes and saw the mascara, but it emphasized the vibrant emerald of her eyes and they now had a mysterious smoky cast to them. She wore a modest silky blue shirt and a lovely cream skirt. She was…_beautiful_, she realised in shock.

"If this were any other date….anything besides Potter, I would be delighted… But thank you for the effort anyhow," Lily said with a brave attempt at a smile. "And Marlene?" the girl in question raised her eyebrows. "Never apply my mascara again. Ever."

Marlene grinned. "Sorry, Lily," she said unrepentantly.

Lily sighed and ran a hand through her glossy curls, admiring the way they looked in the mirror. "I guess I'll go the Entrance Hall, then… Mary, have fun on your date with that Hufflepuff. Marlene… have fun doing whatever you're doing."

Both girls smiled at her. "Go on, then, Lily!" Marlene said, clapping her on the back. "The poor bloke's probably been waiting forever!"

"I swear…if he tries to jinx someone or pranks me on this date, I'm never giving him a second chance," Lily said, plucking at her cerulean top absently.

Mary smirked. "So you were considering going out with him again?"

"Yes - wait, _no!_ You tricked me!" Lily protested, turning to Marlene in a vain search for reinforcements. Marlene only shrugged, but Mary's smile – if anything – only grew wider.

"Well then, Lily. Go on. You don't want to keep your date waiting. Oh – be sure to arrange your second date on the fifteenth. Have fun!"

With a broad grin, she pushed Lily out of the room and shut the door in her snarling face.

* * *

James paced at the Entrance Hall distractedly, running a hand through his messy locks.

_Maybe she isn't coming. Maybe this was all a nasty joke. Maybe she just set me up…no, Lily wouldn't be that cruel._

He had a brief moment of utter certainty before doubts consumed him again.

_Maybe she got stuck in one of the trip steps. Maybe a jealous girl attacked her…I am _very_ good looking, after all... Maybe she's sick… I have to help her!_

Certain that Lily was lying injured somewhere, his hand was halfway to his pocket and he already had pulled out a silvery cloak when a flash of red caught his eye.

Lily walked down the stairs, looking – in his eyes – like a goddess descended to Earth. Her green eyes scanned the room before spotting him. He saw her hunch her shoulders slightly, then hurry over to him.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," she said breathlessly. "Mary and Marlene insisted on treating me like a doll."

"That's okay," James said. He held out his arm gallantly and with a very suspicious look, she took it. The pair managed to dart past Filch, who was brandishing a golden probe with a nasty look on his face, and made it outside. His enraged shouts faded behind them until they could no longer hear him.

Grinning, the two of them walked down the winding road. Something fluffy and white drifted past their heads and Lily darted a hand out and caught it.

"Snow!" she said disbelievingly. Smiling she caught another piece and watched it melted instantly. "I've always liked snow," she said rather dreamily, watching small flakes drift past.

"Really?" said James, astounded. "But in snow you can't even see the Quaffle when you play Quidditch! It makes it really difficult to score."

Lily laughed and James felt his heart leap somewhere into the vicinity of his throat. "Of course you'd think of Quidditch first," she said, still smiling.

"Well, where would you like to go first?" James asked, watching her bat at a snowflake. Lily considered it for a moment. "Madam Puddifoot's?" he suggested, but with little conviction. The revolted look on her face made it evident what she thought of the place.

"Merlin, no. That place is ghastly. The cupids always drop confetti into your food. It's disgusting," she said indignantly. James grinned and looped their arms together. She stiffened slightly, then relaxed.

"I hate that place but the other girls I dated thought that it was absolutely wonderful," James said. Lily shivered in mock horror.

"Let's go to Zonko's," she suggested after a silent second as they walked down the snowy path. In the distance, James could see Hogsmeade.

"That's a great idea!" James said enthusiastically. Lily laughed and a girl passing on the arm of her hulking date shot them an extremely nasty look. James winced.

"What's wrong with her?" Lily wondered, watching as they sped up.

"I dated her once… didn't end well, and she's still not over me," James said. Lily shook her head, but a small smile curled her lips.

"Ooh," Lily said, spotting the buildings ahead. A light dusting of snow coated the place and turned it into a whimsical wonderland. "It looks beautiful today."

James bobbed his head in agreement, watching Lily out of the corner of his eyes. In a comfortable silence, they walked the rest of the path and the full beauty of Hogsmeade unfolded before them.

Lily was quite pleasantly surprised. She had expected the date to be full of awkward silences and uncomfortable looks, but she felt at ease…even happy. James cracked the occasional joke and she laughed the entire way down to the village. James wasn't being pushy or trying to hold her hand, nor was he making rude comments about her body. Lily still couldn't help but expect him to somehow change and maybe curse her when her back was turned. But he didn't.

They spotted the brightly coloured shop almost the moment they set foot in the village. Students crowded around it, shrieking with laughter. There was a miniature explosion in one of the groups and a plume of smoke rose over all their heads. A small whirling disc flew over Lily's head and a boy almost knocked her over as he chased it. James gallantly offered her a hand and despite her suspicions, she accepted it.

"Have you been to Zonko's before?" James asked, half shouting over the noise of the crowd surrounding the shop. She shook her head and was nearly yanked from his grasp as a girl shoved past her. James looked as if she had stabbed him in the heart. "It's great!"

They managed to get inside the shop and Lily gaped in amazement. Students crowded around shelves packed with things from Nose-Biting Teacups to Dungbombs. A quill a girl was holding kept turning green and spitting slime at those around her; Lily barely ducked in time. A boy chasing something yellow that moved to quickly for Lily to get a proper look at it ran past her, shouting rude things.

"Look Lily!" James said, sprinting over to a shelf. "These are the new Shrieking Shredders!"

"Tiny things please tiny minds…" Lily remarked dryly, watching James play with the vibrating little toy, a delighted smile on his face. He shot a grin at her, then returned to watching in dance in his palm, small blades whirring.

Lily rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face, and wandered over to a shelf full of whistling purple crystals. A shop assistant seemed to bloom out of the ground in front of her, a phony smile on his face.

"These are an offshoot of the new Dark Detectors!" he said, pointing at them as if she didn't see them. "Hold one in your palm and if you get close to Dark magic, it vibrates! Very inexpensive, Miss…"

"Evans," she said, holding her hand out. He eyed her hand as if it were something dirty. She let it drop, feeling awkward.

"Oh," he said rather pointedly. "A Muggleborn. How… lovely."

"Er," she said awkwardly. The tense air seemed to thicken. Just as she opened her mouth to say something that likely would have gotten her thrown out of the shop, James struggled through the crowd to meet her, holding a small wigging bag. The assistant immediately left her and hurried to his side.

"Ah, Mister Potter!" he said, shooing off people that got close. "Would you like to come see our offshoot of Dark Detectors? This…Muggleborn was just leaving," he said with a pointed glance at her. Lily couldn't help but flush slightly.

"This is my…date," James said with a frown, putting an arm around Lily. She resisted the urge to throw him off and settled for giving the assistant a sharp smile.

"Oh! My apologies, Miss Everly," he said, bobbing at their sides like a dog worrying a bone.

"Evans," she politely corrected him, but he paid no attention to her.

"Will that be all, Mister Potter?" he asked, following them as they pushed through the crowd to the front.

"Yep," James called back to him. "We'll pay up here, thanks."

The assistant couldn't miss his frigid tone or icy glare. Babbling apologies, he backed up and was promptly sucked into the crowd. James immediately let his arm drop, much to her relief.

"Sorry about that," James said. "He's normally really polite."

"Well, you're a pureblood. And guessing how much you spend, I'd say you have a decent amount of money," Lily said, examining a whirring device that tried to bite her.

"Not to brag," James said, heaving his bag onto the counter. The shop-keeper immediately hurried over to him. "But yeah, we're pretty rich."

Lily nodded, half listening as the shop-keeper informed James of the price. "Ouch," she said irritably as the little device managed to bite her. James glanced over.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said distractedly, wiping a bit of blood from her finger. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Nearly."

She returned to examining the small metal thing. It seemed to grin, if metal could grin, then leapt at her. Shocked, but not so surprised she was frozen, she swung her heavy bag at it. There was a small _thunk_ and it hit the floor and made a weak buzzing noise, little whirring teeth moving slowly. Seconds later, she was performing a complicated sort of dance while it chased her feet and made frantic attempts to bite at her.

"Ready!" James said with a sunny grin, slinging his bag over his shoulder and looking up. He froze in shock. Lily was swearing quietly and trying to freeze the thing, but it dodged her spells and leapt for her ankle.

"Impedimenta!" James said, managing to temporarily immobilize it as it latched on to her skirt. It froze and hit the floor. "Run!" James said, grinning and pulling Lily along. Laughing, then pair spilled out into the village, the little thing waking up seconds later and starting to chase Lily again. Lily slammed the door shut and it hit the glass with a dull _crunch._

Smiling, the duo made their way across the busy street, laughing now about Lily's brush with the metal device.

"They're normally to stop thieves," James said, walking across the path. "But that one probably didn't like you examining it."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled. Even more snow drifted around them, piling up. It was already at least five inches deep and getting deeper. Lily inadvertently shivered and saw James take a glance at her.

"Let's go to Honeydukes," James said. "It's always warm in there."

Quite eager to be warm and surrounded by the delicious scents of Honeydukes, Lily agreed. They sprinted across the road and opened the door, the jingling bell heralding their arrival. Lily closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the scents of chocolate and sweets enveloping her with warmth.

Lily grinned. "I love Hogsmeade."

* * *

James watched Lily surreptitiously as she wandered around the shop, occasionally picking up a sweet or two, blissful smile firmly in place. She frowned at the Cockroach Clusters, grinned at the Blood Pops, and shivered slightly at the Acid Pops. He noticed she seemed especially fond of Droobles and made a mental note to get her some later.

He picked a Blood Pop and sniffed at it, wondering whether it was _really _made out of blood.

"That's very unsanitary," Lily said, seemingly popping out of nowhere. He yelped and nearly dropped the Blood Pop. She ignored him and looked at the blood-red sweet with interest. "Having sweets made of human blood, I mean. But I expect it's for vampires."

"I reckon it is," James agreed, running hand absentmindedly through his hair. He caught her scowl at the unconscious movement and hastily stopped.

Lily shrugged and dug in her pockets, searching for her money. "I'll go and pay for this, then," she said.

"I can pay for that," James said quickly, eager to be a gallant hero for Lily.

"I can't let you do that," she protested.

"Just think of it as repaying you for your priceless time," he said with a shameless grin and a wink, taking the bag from her surprised hands. She snorted crossly and folded her arms over her chest.

"Fine, but I'm repaying you later," she said.

"With what?" he asked with a cheeky grin. "Ouch! I was only joking, Evans! Don't kill me!"

* * *

James and Lily sat at a small table in the Three Broomsticks, Lily relating an amusing story while James laughed and sipped at his butterbeer.

"It turns out," Lily said, gasping out through her laughter. "That it was supposed to be addressed to Mary, not Marlene!"

James roared with laughter, nearly choking on his butterbeer. Lily threw back her head and laughed too, green eyes sparkling in the dim light. Both of them were slightly tipsy from all the butterbeer. Though James was itching to try the firewhiskey, Lily's frown dissuaded him quickly. Now they sat, having lost count of how many butterbeers they had drank at ten.

Lily smiled easily at him and again, he felt his heart pound fiercely. Across the room, he could feel the fiery gaze of Cassie, a pretty red-haired girl, boring into his back, but he ignored it.

"She's staring at you again," Lily said, looking over his shoulder. He resisted the urge to turn and look as well. "It's rather creepy. I'm almost certain she's been following us since Honeydukes."

"Why?" he asked, slightly lost. "I always thought she hated me. She always goes really quiet when she sees me and she never talks! She gets lines in her forehead when she looks at me and looks like she's glaring."

Much to his surprise, Lily stifled a snort of laughter. "Oh James," she said, shaking her head. "You really are blind."

"What?" he asked confusedly.

Lily sighed and steeped her hands, leaning forward earnestly. "She's infatuated with you," she said baldly. James stared.

"Are you _serious?_"

"Yes. I had to tutor her once in Charms and all she would talk about was you."

James stared in disbelief, hazel eyes wide and stunned. Lily shrugged.

"Oh, and while we're on the subject of people following us, tell your stupid mates to get out from behind that pot plant. Oh, and also?" she called across the room. "A hat rack is a really terrible place to hide three of you. I spotted you an hour ago."

"_What?_" James whirled to see three sheepish boys emerge from behind the tiny plant they were trying to crouch behind.

"I told you this wouldn't work," Sirius was arguing as they approached the table. Peter scowled.

"Don't try to act as if you're blameless," he said, stumbling over a tabby cat that whirled and tried to scratch him. "I seem to remember something along the line of 'Let's hide behind this tiny little rack. Of course they'll never spot us!' Idiot."

"That wasn't me!" he defended himself. "That was Remus."

"No it wasn-" Remus started furiously. Lily clapped her hands sharply.

"Boys! Why are you following us?" she asked. The three looked at each other uneasily.

"Well," Peter started.

"We… er… we wanted-"

"To make sure no girls attacked you!" Remus cut in with a broad grin that looked entirely fake. Sirius and Peter immediately plastered massive smiles across their faces in an attempt to look innocent. James crossed his arms over his chest. Their smiles didn't even budge.

"You know how popular you are, James!" Sirius half shouted, clapping James' shoulder. His expression remained unchanging. Lily took the initiative and stood.

"I'll be back in a moment, James," she said, putting her hands on Remus and Sirius' shoulders and prodding Peter lightly with her elbow. "March, you prats."

James watched stonily as she chivied the reticent three across the room. Peter wheedled and pleaded, Sirius tried to flirt with her, and Remus attempted to convince her to let them go. She smiled pleasantly at them, shoved them out the door, then returned to her seat.

"I don't think they'll be coming back," she said, choosing a bit of food. "I threatened to hex a few choice bits off if they came back. You know, as bad as they are at stealth, it's a wonder to me that you manage to get around the castle without ever being caught."

"We're talented, I guess," James tried. Her expression was knowing and slightly amused, but try as he might, he couldn't figure out what she knew that amused her.

"But anyhow," she said, changing the subject. "Cassie really does love you. You should let her down gently."

"Of course," he immediately agreed, watching her take a gulp of butterbeer, then sigh mournfully when she realised it was empty. She sat the cup back down on the table and sighed again. "Do you want more?" he asked, already turning to look for the new barkeep, Madam Rosmerta.

"Oh no, it's fine," Lily assured him. "Do you want to go back?" she asked, glancing out of one of the windows. "It's getting quite late…"

Sighing, James stood and nodded, once more offering his arm to her. She raised an eyebrow, but accepted it, and together, they left the pub together.

* * *

Lily walked arm in arm with James, stumbling slightly. The door swung shut behind them, and with it, took the warmth and heat from them. The bawdy songs of the drunken men faded to silence and a howling wind picked up. Lily shivered and felt certain James was merely concealing that he felt cold. He glanced over at her, and she knew he was wishing he had a coat to offer her.

The snow drifted down past them to settle on the ground, adding to the already feet-deep snow. Lily idly kicked at a snow drift and smiled at the flakes falling around them. James watched her, grinning as she hesitated for a second, then leaped into the snow bank.

"I love snow," she said happily, pawing at the snow on the floor. James squinted; curious to see what she was doing, but he couldn't make it out in the gloomy dusk, the sunset behind them not helping in the least. She turned away from him and continued to scrape at the snow. Intrigued, James crept closer. She suddenly whirled and shoved one of the snowballs she had been forming into his face.

"Yaaah!" James fell back, clawing at the snow stuck to his glasses. He stood up after a moment to see her broadly grinning face. "I suppose you thought that was very funny, did you?"

"Yep," she replied, still smiling. James suddenly grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at her. He only caught a glimpse of her startled face before it hit her face and she reeled back, vanishing a second later. He froze for a minute before turning just in time to receive a mouthful of snow. Spluttering, he blindly tossed snow everywhere, laughing despite the fiery cold. He could hear her peals of laughter ringing around him.

"Take this, James!" she said, appearing behind him and pushing him into the snow bank. He fell, but managed to grab her ankle before he hit the ground. They fell deep into the snow, though it cushioned them and provided a soft place to lay. James lay frozen, suddenly aware that Lily was lying on top of him and she wasn't trying to leap off.

"So what now?" he whispered, the sound cutting through the silence.

* * *

"So what now?"

The words were soft, but still seemed oddly loud against the sudden quiet. Lily lay very still, her face inches from James. She could feel his warm breath - still sweet from the chocolate he had eaten - ghosting over her cheeks. She could see into his hazel eyes better than ever, and she was suddenly surprised at their beauty – perhaps she should have conceded to Mary that yes, Potter had nice eyes.

She suddenly remembered the question – though at the moment, she wasn't sure if she could remember her own name. Her throat seemed to be painfully constricted. She licked her lips, but couldn't speak.

It was James that leaned forward slowly, his eyes peering questioningly into hers. There was only one thing to do. She shut her eyes and leaned forward just a fraction of an inch – close enough for their lips to touch.

* * *

James could not have been more stunned. He was on a date with Lily Evans…and about to be kissing her. Suddenly, this astonishing thought seemed nothing more than miniscule as Lily leaned forward and closed the tiny distance.

All the kisses he had shared before – ones with random girls whose names he couldn't quite remember at the moment – suddenly paled in comparison with the one he was now sharing with _Lily Evans._ An electric flame seemed to run through him at the touch. Her lips were warm and soft, and for one long moment, James forgot his own name.

Then she had broken the kiss and pushed off him, seemingly realising exactly what she was doing. He sat up to see her emerald green eyes widen in stunned disbelief.

"S-s-sorry," she stuttered so badly he was surprised to see she could still talk. She was shaking badly, he noticed, and without thinking, he stretched out a hand to comfort her. Before he could even move, she had fled into the night, disappearing in seconds.

James sat in the cold snow as flakes drifted around him, and not for the first time, wondered why everything went wrong when he got near Lily Evans.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: I hope it turned out decently. This was a rather long chapter, but I was having so much fun writing it, I just couldn't stop! Please, I would love it if you could review, and thank you for reading!**_


	10. Aftermath

**_Author's Notes: I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday! I was throwing up the entire day and actually physically couldn't make my fingers type. I still have a blindingly painful headache and can barely see to type, so there might be some spelling and grammar mistakes. If you see any, please feel free to tell me._**

**_Could I have some reviews to cheer me up? Only joking, but I would love reviews. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_**

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Lily hadn't spoken a word of what happened doing the date when she stumbled back hours later, half dead from cold, no matter how much Mary and Marlene wheedled, pleaded, or threatened. She kept mumbling to herself and tried several time to hit herself with her schoolbooks, only for Mary to stop her. Both girls sat on either side of her bed, watching her mutter at herself and stare at ceiling.

"Are you quite done being a nutter yet?" Marlene asked as Lily rolled over, glaring into space. "Did James hex your ears off? Did he drive you mad? What the bloody hell is your _problem?_" she demanded. Lily let out a little snarl.

Mary gave Marlene a perplexed look and nodded once. Marlene sighed, then nodded as well. As one, both girls dived at Lily and grabbed her, pulling her and forcing her to sit up. Lily scowled irritably and tried to pull free, but their grips were vicelike and steely.

"Sit up, Lily. Sit straight, I say! Now, lift your head and look us in the eyes," Mary said fiercely. Lily resisted at first, but both girls glared at her until she acquiesced. Her green eyes were watery and rimmed with red, but she stared at them proudly.

"What?" she snapped, sounding more like her normal self already.

"Tell us what happened!" Mary urged. Lily glared at them and tried to yank herself free, but with no success. Clarice, from where she lolled on her bed, smirked over at the three.

"Did your dream date not go like expected?" she mocked Lily, grey eyes gleaming with malicious glee. "Did Potter realise you're not his special girl after all? Did he _abandon _you?" she drew the word out, smirking. Marlene whirled around, wand raised, but she never got the chance to do anything but snarl.

"No, the date was perfect. He kissed me," Lily said in a monotone, not even looking over at Clarice. Clarice gasped but stared at Lily, unable to tear her eyes away. Tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes as Lily continued. "He took me to Honeydukes and bought my sweets for me. Then we had a snowball fight…and kissed. I'm sorry."

Clarice let out a little wail and dove behind her bed curtains. They could hear muffled sobs emanating from behind the ugly maroon velvet curtains, but none of the girls paid it any attention. Mary was stroking Lily's hair and looking delighted while Marlene stood to the side, awkwardly patting her hand.

"Oh Lily," cooed Mary, who in light of the news seemed to have forgot that Lily was barely even speaking, and forcing the words through frozen lips. "That's wonderful news. What did I say about scheduling your second date for the fifteenth?"

"There isn't going to be a second date," Lily said in a barely audible tone. The sniffles on the other side of the curtain quieted slightly, but neither girl near Lily moved; both stared breathlessly and waited for her to go on. "I'm not even going to be able to look him in the eye-"

"Hold on," Marlene interrupted, twirling her wand. "It seems we have an eavesdropper," she said distastefully, directing the birch wand at Clarice's bed. There was a _bang_ and little shriek, then Marlene turned back to the other two.

"What did you do to her?" Mary asked, the girlish blonde looking interested despite her will. Marlene grinned wolfishly.

"Oh, nothing permanent," she said. When they didn't look assured, she sighed. "Just a Silencing Charm with a little extra noise and light to scare her. Now, Lily," she said, returning her attention to the girl. "What were you saying?"

"It was the perfect date," Lily began hoarsely, rocking back and forth slowly. "I could barely even remember that it was Potter, the same boy who cost me my best friend…"

* * *

Clarice sat on her bed, sniffling quietly and rubbing at her eyes with balled hands. Though Marlene constantly underestimated her and thought her little more than a brainless fool, Clarice had broken the Silencing Charm within seconds. She sat very quietly, listening to Lily's quiet voice.

"It was…wonderful… Potter didn't hex anyone, he didn't make crude comments about me, and though I told him not to, he tried to insist on paying for my things. He was…nothing like he is in school…" there was a little pause in which Lily sighed and one of the girls made a little sound as if encouraging her to go on. She continued, voice growing softer. Clarice had to strain to hear her.

"We went to the Three Broomsticks…it was nice there and I was laughing the whole time… we left and it was snowing. I threw some snow at him and it progressed from there," Lily paused and Clarice imagined her lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I pushed him into a snow bank but he managed to grab me and pull me down… I fell on him and he leaned his head forward…"

"Oh Lily!" squealed someone Clarice thought was Mary. She curled her lips in disgust, but continued to silently listen. "That's so romantic," she gushed.

"Go on," Marlene said unexpectedly, and Clarice knew she was staring at Lily still. "I don't think that's the end of it. Why did you run away?"

Lily groaned and there was an odd rustling noise. Clarice dared to peek through a small hole in the curtains. Lily had her face buried in her hands. Mary was fussing over her while Marlene sat on a chair by her side, looking unexpectedly solemn.

"Well, he leaned his head forward but didn't kiss me…he was looking at me and I think he was asked permission to kiss me…but in the end…I…" she let out a mournful noise. "I kissed him!" she wailed. "He's going to think I'm mad or something, kissing him and running off! I'm such an _idiot!_"

Behind the curtain, Clarice privately agreed, but she didn't dare voice the opinion. She was doing perfectly well hiding behind her hideous velvet curtains.

"No," Mary was cooing. "You're not an idiot and he'll never think that. He's infatuated with you, Lily! Though he might wonder why you left him in the snow…" she added as an afterthought.

"You think?" Marlene said dryly. Clarice peeked out from behind the curtains to see her holding Lily's pale hand and shaking her head. "Lily, the boy's probably thinking he's lost any chance with you. I wouldn't be surprised if he was still sitting in the snow, freezing to death, mournfully sighing over his lost _love_ as he's buried in the snow until he actually freezes to death…"

"Oh no!" shrieked Lily, struggling to rise. "What have I done?"

Clarice watched with a disgusted look as Mary pushed Lily back down and threw Marlene a scolding glance. Marlene merely shrugged, tucking a strand of dark hair back.

"I'm _sure_ it's fine," Mary said, giving Marlene an icy glare. She raised an eyebrow and made a rude gesture at Mary. "I'm sure Potter is safely in his bed, dreaming peacefully."

Somehow, Clarice doubted it.

* * *

James lay in his bed, blinking placidly as Remus peered into his eyes, the light in his hand shaking slightly as he directed it at both eyes.

"I _think_ he's okay, though I'm not a doctor," he said, shaking his head. "I can't believe he sat in the snow for _hours _and _hours_…"

A dark-haired shape pushed Remus out of the way and knelt by him. Sirius swam slowly into view as he stared down at him, dark grey eyes wide with worry.

"Come on, Prongs. Get up, you great idiotic lump," Sirius pleaded, trying to appear flippant, though James heard the slight tremor in his voice. "Was it Evans? Did Evans try to murder you? Should we bring her here and force her to-"

"No," James said, voice rasping painfully. He winced and tried to sit up, but Remus darted forward and pushed him back down. "No, don't bring Li- Evans here…no…"

"Okay," Peter said, looking worried. "Okay, we won't bring Evans here…"

Remus felt James' head and looked concerned. "I think you have a fever, Prongs. Maybe we should go to the Hospital Wing…"

"No," James whispered, voice sounding painful. He tried to clear his throat. "No," he said, sounding a bit clearer. "I just don't feel well from being out in the snow," he said.

The other three nodded, though they didn't look entirely convinced. James closed his eyes and tried to convince himself as well.

"I'm fine," he said quietly. He didn't think he'd ever said anything less true.

* * *

The next morning was little better. James woke up with a pounding headache, the light coming from the window nearly blinding him. He groped around his bed and grabbed a shoe, then hurled it at a blanket-bundled shape. The figure groaned and rolled over slightly.

"Close the window," James mumbled, not completely understanding why he could feel a cold breeze. The lump didn't even move. He muttered something rude, then rolled over with a snore. A few minutes later, he was rudely awaked by someone.

"Lily…get off! Ow! Stop biting me!" James flailed weakly as Lily let out a loud screech and clawed at James, flapping her wings – wait, _wings?_ "Aaaah!"

The owl was flung away from him as he thrashed wildly in his bed. It observed him with icy amber eyes, then deliberately raised a talon and started slashing at the lump on the floor, which groaned and groped about. Managing to catch the bird by the leg, the lump blearily tossed it away.

The bird hit the wall, then let out an indignant squawk and fluttered to the desk, ruffling its feathers. It let out a little screech, then started mauling the papers on the desk.

"Stop it, Sirius," James whined, pressing his pillow to his face. "Some of us are trying to sleep…"

Infuriated, the owl let out a screech and dived at the desk. Its mighty talon shredded the paper and upset an inkbottle. The sound of the crash finally roused James, and he wrenched his eyes open.

"No!" James gasped, standing and hurtling towards the desk, tripping over various things in the process. "Wait, stop! I'll pay you, you stupid bird! Just _wait _a minute!"

Having finally awoken its target, the owl sat peacefully on the desk and arranged its feathers, watching smugly – if owls _could _be smug – as James searched for money. The lump on the ground – otherwise known as Sirius - finally woke up with a groan and glared at the owl. The owl glared back.

James finally managed to find five Knuts and handed it to the owl, grabbing the bundled paper it had delivered from the floor. "Bugger off, you stupid owl," James said distractedly, attempting to salvage the tattered remains of his homework.

The owl glared at James balefully, then, giving a doleful hoot, hopped from the desk and fluttered out the open window. A half asleep Sirius stumbled from his bed on the floor and made his way over to where James stood.

"Bloody owl," Sirius muttered, grabbing the paper and ripping it open. His grey eyes scanned the words, then he sucked in a breath sharply. At the sudden noise, James glanced up from where he was attempting to Spellotape his papers. "James," Sirius said quietly, reading an article. "I think you want to read this."

"Why would I want to read it?" James asked, finally giving up on his papers and approaching Sirius.

"It's…"Sirius hesitated. "I think it might…interest you."

"_What?"_ James snatched the paper from Sirius and scanned the paper, searching. He read the tiny words and went unnaturally still. He mouthed the offending words as he read them. "_A group known for stirring up trouble is currently insisting that the mysterious man known only as 'Lord Voldemort' is responsible for the deaths of three Muggle families_," he muttered, eyes narrowing further as he read. "_But the Ministry of Magic assures worried Wizards that this is not true and that this group is merely lying for their own sick gain…_ what nonsense!" James spat, throwing the paper to the floor. The unusually quiet Sirius retrieved it.

"Look here," Sirius said softly, flipping through the pages until he reached the right one. "A man in Wiltshire was murdered today. He was responsible for leading a protest campaigning for Muggle Rights…it was a…a nasty murder. But of course, the Ministry is completely ignoring it and anyone who tries to investigate is quickly shut down."

"Idiots!" shouted James. Sirius was pale and shook ever-so-slightly, his hands clenched around the newspaper, which crumpled beneath his tight grasp.

"Do you know the reason they're shutting down all investigations?" Sirius asked. James glanced over at him. Sirius was pale and there was an unfamiliar light glimmering in his eyes. "Because, another man who lives in Wiltshire is paying them enough that they're willing to look the other way…Lucius Malfoy," he whispered, and James felt the unfamiliar stirrings of dread at the name. "Soon to marry my dear, darling cousin, Narcissa."

He threw the newspaper to the floor and stared distantly out the window. Outside, he could see Hagrid stumping around, discreetly prodding his oversized pumpkins with his pink umbrella. "Narcissa…"he said, watching Hagrid chase a boy away from the forest. "I haven't thought about her in…years. Dear, darling Narcissa," he repeated, sounding distant.

"Your…_family,_" he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust that the word could apply to Sirius. "Is behind you now, mate," James said, thumping his back. Sirius blinked once, then seemed to return to normal.

"Of course. She and those other mad old bats are far behind me," Sirius grinned, heading for his trunk and pulling out some robes, but James fancied he saw a flash of unfamiliar emotion in his inscrutable grey eyes.

* * *

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Come _on!"_

"I said _no!_" Lily said stubbornly, resisting all efforts to drag her from the room. Mary tugged on her, giving her a wide-eyed look.

"Come on, Lily. You need to eat breakfast. It's a very important part of the day," Mary told her. Lily shook her head and tried to pull free. Mary looked over to Marlene, who was pulling on her robes, and made a pleading gesture. The other girl just shrugged and continued to try to pull her robes over her head.

"I think I've either gained weight or these robes have shrunk," Marlene mused, ignoring Lily and Mary, who were now having a wrestling match. Marlene considered it for a second, then shrugged and tossed the robes away. "I suppose I've gained weight."

Clarice, who had shrunk the robes during the night to get back at Marlene, pouted and sat up. "_I'm _going to breakfast," she announced haughtily, looking at Lily in particular. "I think I'll sit near James. Since you already ruined your chances, I'm sure he'd be _delighted _to have a gorgeous girl like _me_ sit near him," she purred with a luxuriant smile, stretching.

As she had expected, Lily's face hardened, then she released Mary from the headlock and stomped to her trunk. She yanked some robes on, then strode from the room. Clarice smiled contentedly, following her with dainty steps.

Even if she _was_ jealous, who said she couldn't do nice things?

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, and again, I'm sorry I couldn't update yesterday. If you see any glaring errors, please tell me! Thanks for reading, and I would be so happy if you could review!**_


	11. Blood

_**Author's Notes: I'm really not at all happy with this chapter, but no matter how many times I tried to re-write it, I didn't like it any better. I hope it's at least decent. Thanks for reading!**_

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* * *

**_

Lily regretted the decision to go the Great Hall just seconds after she had left the common room, Clarice trailing behind her. She had just begun to stride down to the Great Hall when a girl skidded to a halt in front of her. The girl's eyes were wide and manic, and she was twisting her bony hands in her coppery red hair.

"_You!_ You and James! You lied to me- and went out – and kissed! And you knew-! I thought you were nice-"the girl gabbled wildly. Lily stared, trying to make sense of the girl's rapid speech.

"Cassie, I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?" she asked kindly, hoping she would slow down and explain what she was talking about, or at least halt the flow of words. She didn't. If anything, she only got more frantic.

"And you said you didn't! Everyone thought-! You said you hated – you betrayed me!" she raved, clawing with skinny hands at her mussed hair. Clarice, who had halted behind her, stared at the girl, arms crossed and a stony look on her face.

"And then," the girl said, talking faster and faster. "You said yes – went out – _date!_ Betrayed me – should have not – _kissed! _I thought you said – no, you shouldn't have! Said you hated – thought you – lied to me! _Kissed!_" the girl squealed. She promptly burst into tears and fled in the direction of the Great Hall, where a group of her friends waited.

They shot Lily dirty looks, then enveloped the girl, all chattering at once. Lily, utterly bewildered, stared at Clarice. The beautiful girl shrugged, seemingly not caring about the girl's predicament.

"Come on, Lily, or her friends will swarm you," Clarice said, resting a sharp hand on Lily shoulder and cutting effortlessly through the crowd, dragging Lily in her wake.

"What was her problem?" Lily asked Clarice. The girl curled her lips in an expression of haughty disgust.

"Oh, you know Cassie. She and a few of her friends are obsessed with James because he's handsome and on the Quidditch team. A bit like me, actually," she said, pausing for a second with an expression of mild interest. She shrugged and resumed effortlessly moving past chattering people. "But I'm not nearly so _pathetic_. She's more than a bit mad, Cassie is. You tutored her, didn't you know this?" the blonde said, shoving a girl out of her way and continuing on.

"I tutored her, yes," Lily said, still quite bewildered. "But I don't know her at all – all she would talk about was Ja-Potter, but I thought it was just a crush!"

"It's not," Clarice said, kicking the shins of a few seventh-years, then pushing past them and into the Great Hall. "She set her eyes on my nitwit of a _boyfriend_ once," she bared her teeth in disgust at the word, then continued. "And kept 'accidently' bending over to show off her pants or 'accidently' leaning over a little too far, then she dragged him into a broom closet for a nice snog. The filthy little brat always has to get her way," she muttered, yanking Lily along to the Gryffindor table, then firmly shoving her into a seat.

"Now eat," she said sharply. Lily nodded dazedly.

"Thanks, Clarice," she said. Lily thought she might have seen a bit of fondness in the girl's eyes before Clarice ruthlessly quashed it and gave Lily a supercilious look.

"You're welcome, I suppose," she sighed, flipping her hand. She sashayed over to James and sat very close to him, nearly shoving her expansive chest in his face.

"She never changes," Lily muttered, stabbing her fork into some eggs and trying not to look over at James. She couldn't resist peeking occasionally, and he caught her eyes several times. She blushed and immediately focused back on her food.

"Did you hear?" Mary asked, settling in the seat next to her, still trying to curl her eyelashes with her wand as she walked. She nearly jabbed herself in the eye as she reached for some coffee. "Ravenclaw is going to be playing Gryffindor in the final game!" she said excitedly. Marlene sat down on Lily's other side, looking surlier than a troll. "She's got her knickers in a twist because she's going to have to play her great _love_, that Davies boy," Mary whispered conspiratorially.

"I am not," Marlene said defensively, having heard the last sentence.

Mary just laughed.

* * *

"She's looking at you, mate," Sirius whispered excitedly, jabbing an elbow in James' side yet again. James gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to throttle his best mate. He felt quite sure that his entire side was bruised, and he was not at all certain that Sirius hadn't fractured a rib.

Just as the unpleasant thought occurred to him, Sirius dug his elbow in James' side again. James clenched his hands.

_Do not leap on to the table and bash Sirius' head open. Do not leap on to the table and bash Sirius' head open. Do not…_

James kept up the litany of chants until Sirius elbowed him again.

"She's doing it again, mate," Sirius hissed, a small smile on the corners of his lips. He felt certain that Sirius knew exactly how much he was annoying James, a thought that was confirmed with yet another prod of the elbow.

James contented himself with pleasant images of him drowning Sirius in the pumpkin juice. His fingers itched to be wrapped around Sirius' throat. There was a sharp jab of pain as Sirius poked him again and James winced and let out a hiss. Peter, who had been watching interestedly, stomped Sirius' foot deliberately.

"Owww!" he wailed. He lifted his foot and put it on the table, upending several goblets of pumpkin juice and nearly sticking his foot in James' toast.

"Sirius, what did you do?" James asked exasperatedly. Sirius ignored him and rubbed at his foot.

"What _exactly_ do you think you're doing?"

The voice was exquisitely familiar to him, and James nearly cricked his neck by turning to look at her whip-fast. Lily ignored him, eyes focused on Sirius – or more specifically, his leg that was teetering dangerously on the brink of landing in James' eggs.

"Someone stomped my foot," Sirius said, rubbing his foot. "I'm putting it up here so they can't do it again."

Lily closed her eyes for a second, then opened them. "No," she said coolly. "You're not. Get your foot off the table this instant or I'll-"

"Give me detention? Take some points off?" Sirius gasped and pretended to faint. Lily's eyes narrowed into slits. She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. "You wouldn't," Sirius said in a voice of awed shock that someone would go so low.

"I would," she said. Sirius immediately pulled his foot off the table. Lily smiled, then transferred her glare to the other three. Her eyes immediately went to James – then moved right past him to Peter. James gaped at her. "You three," she said irritably. "He's disturbing our meal. You should put a collar on him," she said. "Or at least a leash."

The others froze instantly. Sirius let out a tiny squeak. Lily didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care. She scowled at James, who she seemed to be attempting to treat like the rest of them. "Keep your friend," she said, jabbing a finger over her shoulder at Sirius. He was now playing with his eggs and had shoved two bits of toast in his ears to the amusement of several giggling girls. "From doing things like this. It reflects badly on the Prefects."

With composure of ice, Lily turned around and was about to leave. James leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "Hey Li-Evans!" he called after her. He saw her stiffen, but she didn't turn back. "Why'd you run off? Couldn't stand the fact you were wrong about me?"

She froze, then wheeled around. For the first time that day, her icy composure had cracked. "N- I- why do you ask?" she said in a vain attempt to distract him. He grinned, easily falling back into the pattern they had assumed before the disastrous date.

"Oh…it might have had something to do with the fact that you ki-"

"Langlock," she said in a quiet but fierce voice.

Before he could even utter another sound, he felt his tongue glue itself to the top of his mouth. His eyes widened and he made frantic gestures, but he couldn't speak at all. Lily smiled, but her eyes were like chips of ice. She leaned forward, red hair swinging around her face.

"I don't want you to ever speak of that again," she whispered, warm breath tickling his ear. "It's behind us now. Forget it, and don't talk about it again." He let out a squeak in protest. She smiled and patted his cheek. "See? You're learning already."

With that, she turned and headed back to her seat, waving her wand without even turning. James felt his tongue part company with the top of his mouth. He massaged his throat and watched her go.

_Nothing else is working,_ he thought as she sat down next to her friends. _No matter how stupid it is, I guess I'll have to go with Sirius' plan now._

_

* * *

_

"Are you serious?" Sirius asked in a whisper a few hours later. James nodded, keeping his eyes on his notes and scrawling an occasional word. In front of them, Professor Binns droned on, boring them all stupid.

"I am," he confirmed, scribbling a note about the Giant wars. Sirius considered him, grey eyes watching him for any signs of trickery. James kept writing. On the other side of him, Remus and Peter played hangman on the corner of their paper while Lily sat in the corner, spell-bound and listened intently.

"Talk to me later in the dormitory," Sirius mouthed at him. "With Remus and Peter. They'll want to help…plus, Moony's the sensible one. He'll have a plan mapped out already."

James nodded determinedly.

_One way or another_, he thought as he took notes on Uric the Oddball and mixed up dates on the Goblin wars. _One way or another, you're going to realize you're wrong about me, Lily Evans._

_

* * *

_

"Lily," Mary said, looking up from painting her fingernails. "Stop it. You've been tapping your hand and staring out the window for the last thirty minutes. What's wrong?"

Lily frowned crossly, trying to marshal her scattered thoughts. "Potter is up to something," she said finally. On the other side of her, Marlene rolled her eyes. Lily ignored her. "He's been looking at me all day. It's creepy. I don't like it, and he's planning something," she said defiantly.

Marlene snorted tactlessly. "Don't you think you're the one who has been obsessing over him?" she asked, scowling at Lily. Lily made a noise like an angry cat, but Marlene pressed on. "I mean, you are kind of the one who ran off and essentially ruined the date. Why are _you_ staring at _him?_"

"I'm not," Lily protested. Marlene raised an eyebrow.

"Then why have you noticed he's looking at you? You would have had to have been looking at him to notice it."

Lily opened and closed her mouth several times, then sighed. "I guess you're right, Marlene," she admitted. Marlene smiled in satisfaction. "It _is_ all my fault. I'm the one who ran off." Lily slumped mournfully back on to her bed and sighed deeply.

Marlene looked angry enough to spit fire. "For Merlin's sake, Lily. I didn't say that just so you could further sink into despair! Not everything is about you!"

Her shocked roommates watched as she stood from the bed and strode towards the exit. Lily jumped slightly as it slammed shut. "She's right," Lily said in a low voice. Mary patted her hand sympathetically. The two girls stared at the door for a second before a voice startled them.

"I don't understand you. I don't know how anyone could be so interested in gossip and petty feelings," a silkily cold voice said as the door clicked and an oddly pale girl slipped in. Lily and Mary jumped slightly and turned to stare at their fifth roommate, who stared at them with dark eyes.

"Because, Diana," Mary said after a moment of exasperated silence. "You're barely even female anyhow. You really don't get other girls, do you?"

The girl observed them for a second, then shrugged and disappeared back behind her bed-curtains.

"That one's a nutter, as Marlene would say," Mary muttered to Lily, who gave her a rather disappointed look.

"I know she's a bit…" Lily struggled for a suitable word.

"Mad? Cracked? Odd?" Mary supplied with a cheeky smile. Lily pursed her lips darkly.

"Different, I was going to say," Lily replied with dignity. "But you shouldn't be so nasty to her. If you tried to get to know her…"

"Lily, it's been six years since we met her," Mary said in exasperation. "We don't even know if she's Muggleborn or Pureblood or-"

"Pureblood," the distinctly cold voice said from the bed. Mary winced.

"_Did she hear that_?" Mary hissed. Lily sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I would expect so, yes," Lily said. Mary blushed, but her reply was lost in a small scream from below. Lily and Mary froze, then turned as one to stare at the door. Another shriek rang out, then another.

"What's going on?" shouted a voice from below. From the sound of it, there was a small stampede and the two girls flinched as a door slammed. Even Diana poked her head out, dark eyes gleaming curiously.

"Should we go see if we help?" Mary asked, looking distinctly frightened as another loud bang issued from downstairs. Lily nodded determinedly.

"I'm going," she said, standing. Her gaze softened as she remembered the incident several days ago. "You can wait a bit; I'll tell you what happened when I come back," she said gently to Mary. The obviously frightened girl shook her head, eyes wide but equally determined.

"I'm coming with you," she announced, scurrying over to Lily. Lily smiled at her friend, then drew her wand and approached the door quietly. She listened for a second, then eased the door open and squeezed through.

Her first impression was silence. There was utter and complete quiet. Even the fire seemed to have gone out, and the air was thick and dark. All the lights had been extinguished, and Lily could almost taste the fear tingling in the air. Her hair seemed to stand on end. Mary stood unobtrusively behind Lily, but Lily could see the fear in her eyes.

Her heart thundered in her chest as she crept down the stairs. Breathing hard, she poked her head around the corner. The lights were off, and the fire had been utterly extinguished. Even the coals were gone. Nothing moved.

"Lumos," Lily muttered. Her wand tip flared, and with it revealed the common room. Mary let out a tiny little squeak and Lily had to fight not to gasp. The entire room was splattered in crimson paint, the walls dripping. It looked like blood, and for one terrified second, Lily thought someone had been injured horrifically.

Beneath the paint, posters were stuck to the wall, bold words shining even through the paint.

**Mudbloods will die.**

Mary let out despairing little cry. Lily felt her heart sink in her chest as she pointed the wand at the distant words, illuminating them. And below them, four bodies lay sprawled.

Lily felt as if something had punched her in the gut. An icy feeling seemed to flood her body; she stopped breathing. Her heart seemed to stop for one terrifying second – then one of the bodies groaned and rolled over slightly. Mary whimpered in relief and Lily almost joined her as she slid down the wall to collapse on the floor. Then a hand had appeared over her mouth and strong arms dragged her backwards.

Lily reacted without even hesitating. The one thought lodged in her frightened mind was –_they're not taking me without a fight._ She immediately drove a fist into the stomach of her attacker and they released her with a small grunt_._ She whirled and put her wand to their throat, seconds from uttering a curse, when she recognised them.

"_Potter?" _she asked in a hiss. Wincing, he rubbed his stomach and nodded.

"You really can punch, Evans," he said, coughing slightly, but grinning nonetheless. Her expression hardened instantly.

"This is no time for jokes," she hissed. "Have you seen-?"

His expression turned instantly grim. "Yeah. The four of us were just coming down to see what happened."

Mary was huddled on the floor still, eyes locked firmly on the papers, rocking back and forth slightly. Lily crouched down next to her as Peter took a tentative step into the common room.

"It's alright Mary. You're okay," Lily said, kneeling next to her and hugging her lightly. Mary nodded obediently, though her eyes were still fixed on the crimson-stained room behind them. "I'm going to see what happened," Lily said, standing. "I'll be back in second," she assured her. Mary didn't move.

Lily turned and entered the room. Sirius had reignited all the lights and the light flickered over the scarlet walls. The other boys were bent over the still Gryffindors. Remus was inspecting the papers plastered to the wall with a distasteful look while Peter did his best to revive the half-conscious girl clinging to his robes. She was weeping and gasping a name. Lily crouched by her.

"Anna," the unfamiliar girl was saying as Lily listened, tears sliding down her face to mix with the blood-like paint.f

"Who is that?" Peter said, looking to Lily in hopes of recognition. She shrugged uneasily.

"I don't know. We need to get them to the Hospital Wing," she said. "Evanesco!"

The paint splattering the four barely conscious Gryffindors vanished. Lily summoned several stretchers and levitated the groaning four onto them.

"James, could you take them to the Hospital Wing?" Lily asked, performing a complicating wiggle of her wand. Straps appeared and hooked the four onto the stretchers, then she levitated them over to James. "I'll help these three clean up the common room."

"Sure, Lily-flower," James said after a surprised second, darting forward.

"Don't call me that," she said, turning around with a roll of her eyes but James could have sworn he saw the smallest of smiles as she did.

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_**Author's Notes: I would love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading!**_


	12. Accidents

_**Author's Notes: I am **_**so**_** sorry that I didn't update for so long! I brilliantly managed to break my ankle in a spectacularly embarrassing fashion, and have been rather busy – but that's no excuse. All I can say is sorry!**_

_**But several days late, here you go. I hope it came out alright, and thank you SO much for the reviews!**_

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Lily waved her wand and looked around the common room with satisfaction. Most of the Gryffindors had come down to help clean the room. The paint coating the walls had vanished, as had most of the papers emblazoned with the ugly messages.

Lily ducked a few papers fluttering to the fireplace and quickly extinguished a girl who had somehow managed to set herself on fire, then stopped a boy before he could turn his friend into a badger. A chair flew across the room and hit the wall with a deafening crash. Someone screamed.

Several minutes later, Lily struggled across the common room to Mary, ducking furniture and people. A massive chair hit the fireplace with a bang. A chair leg clattered to the ground next to her as Lily ducked a girl who was firing spells in every direction. Gryffindors ran around the room wildly, spells were flying, and almost everything that wasn't attached to the ground was floating madly around the room.

"Stop!" Lily shouted, immobilizing a flying clock and ducking a boy that flew past her and crashed into the wall. Screaming, portraits fell from the wall, and the shattering of glass only added to the pandemonium. Muttering rude things under her breath, Lily dragged Mary into a corner and crouched, wand at the ready, freezing everything that came close.

"Stop!" she shouted again, but with no effect. Mary stunned several people who were firing spells madly, then put her wand to her throat.

"Sonorus," she whispered. She cleared her throat. "STOP!"

The terrifyingly loud voice seemed to echo in the small room. People froze and spells failed, sending everything that had been floating clattering to the ground. Mary smirked. Lily fidgeted under the gaze of everyone in the common room, but stood and cleared her throat. Her loud, clear voice rang across the quiet room.

"This is ridiculous. Everyone, stop trying to hex everything that moves and _clean up!_ All of you, start repairing everything you managed to break, and put it back in place! NOW!" she shouted. The sheepish Gryffindors slowly started moving again. All the broken furniture started levitating again, but the process was controlled and calm now. Lily shook her head in disgust and started to supervise again.

"No, Sirius! Don't you dare do that, Pettigrew. Black, I swear, if you break that again - stop trying to turn Sanders into a badger! Don't put that there – don't you know where that goes? If you set that clock on fire _one more time,_ I'll – No!" Lily leapt out of the way just in time for a massive grandfather clock to land where she had been only moments later with a deafening crash.

Those who were not responsible shook their heads as they cleaned the room and listened to Lily berate several boys. A bolt flew across the room and hit Lily on the ear. She whirled to see Remus looking innocent while Peter hid behind him.

"PETTIGREW!"

Peter squeaked and began to run, Remus laughing behind him. Lily chased him around the common room several times, waving her wand threateningly. Gryffindors shook their heads and ignored the two as they ran around the room, Lily trying desperately to catch up.

Finally, when her chest felt like it was ready to explode and breathing hurt, Lily stopped, panting and bent over. "T-truce," she gasped, coughing weakly into her sleeve. Peter nodded, unable to speak. Wheezing, Lily hobbled over to one of the comfy armchairs and flopped into it. She watched in satisfaction as the last bit of paint on the walls disappeared and the very last chair thumped into place beside her.

Remus collapsed into the chair and flicked his wand at the fireplace. It promptly burst into flames. Lily huddled next to it, holding her hands to it eagerly. Gryffindors around them were talking in low voices, and several of them began to depart for bed. Lily closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of heat wafting over her, the crackling of the flames the only noise apart from soft murmurs from the others.

"I'm going to the Hospital Wing," Remus said after a moment, shattering the quiet. Lily opened her eyes and looked over at him. He fidgeted uncomfortably. "I-I'll check on James and make sure those people aren't hurt…"

"Oh Merlin," Lily gasped, standing up. "I completely forgot about them! I need to go…"

"No, Lily, you've done enough," Remus said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. Lily looked around for a minute more, still panicked, then realised the merit in his words. She sighed, then raked her fingers through her auburn fringe.

"I…suppose…"she said doubtfully. Remus smiled gently at her.

"I'll tell you how they are," he assured her. She closed her eyes and nodded, not completely convinced she was doing the right thing. Still, the complete exhaustion that came from trying to control the Marauders was setting in, and it was certainly helping to convince her. Remus gave her one last reassuring smile, then climbed out the portrait hole.

Lily gave a weary sigh and turned around, quite prepared to go to sleep, only to spot Sirius - Sirius, who was charming some Dungbombs to fly about the common room and dive-bomb hapless students. A girl screamed and ducked, knocking into her friend and sending her careening into the wall. A dull thud and the second girl fell over, stunned, then the Dungbombs that had idly floated around the room dive-bombed her. Fresh screams broke out.

Lily inwardly sighed, already running towards Sirius with her wand outstretched. She accidently trod on one of the Dungbombs. There was a loud _bang_, then a cloud of foul-smelling smoke enveloped her. Coughing, she waved her hands furiously then covered her mouth and nose in disgust at the smell, almost retching. She stumbled out of the smoke, eyes watering and nose protesting. Sirius had a cluster of Dungbombs following him around as he shouted orders like a general and waved his wand, directing the pellets with ease.

_Never a dull moment…_she thought as the whole lot of them exploded and the common room disappeared in brown smoke. _Stupid boys._

_

* * *

_

"Be kind, polite, don't ask her to go out with you, and for Merlin's sake, _don't_ _hex Snape_!" Remus said seriously. On either side of him, Sirius and Peter were tossing Berty Botts beans in the air and making a competition of trying to catch them in their mouths. James did his best to ignore them and scribbled furiously in his notebook, nodding as he listened to Remus.

"Right, Moony. Any other suggestions?"

Sirius stopped trying catch the beans and glanced over at James. One of the many flavoured beans hit him on the nose, but he ignored it.

"I think you should shower more," Sirius said. Peter , who was trying to balance a Sugar Quill on his nose beside him, snorted loudly. James flushed and whacked him with a pillow, face glowing like the setting sun.

* * *

The day did not begin well.

Lily woke up early; the dawn's light was just beginning to peek up from behind the clouds when she opened her eyes. There seemed to be a particularly chilly wind when she woke up, and when she groped for her blankets, they weren't there. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, only to spot the castle's poltergeist hovering by her bed, with a gleeful smile and _her blankets._

"Those are _mine!_" she said furiously, launching herself out of bed and grabbing for them. Peeves cackled, then puffed up his cheeks and blew at her, speeding backwards and melting through the wall. Swearing the entire time, she got dressed and grumpily threw a hairbrush at Mary. The girl let out a groan and rolled over, snoring all the while.

Lily muttered something rude, then turned back to the mirror and hastily ran her own hairbrush through her hair. She glanced around at her mostly still sleeping roommates. Clarice was sleepily trying to put a sock over her head and mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like a plan to seduce James. Diana still hadn't appeared from her bed, Mary snored in hers, and Marlene still hadn't shown up.

Ignoring the raucous snores from Mary, Lily threw down the hairbrush and hurried out, only pausing to scoop up her bag of books, which promptly ripped.

Twenty minutes later, she arrived at her Transfiguration classes, panting and out of breath.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said with surprised disapproval, surveying Lily over the top of her glasses. Lily flushed, but made no attempts to excuse herself. She sat down in a chair in the corner, hunched over and positively exuding gloom and unhappiness. She barely paid attention as the professor explained about some extremely complicated spell or another… Lily could barely even think through her pounding headache.

"Now, pair up with a partner and attempt to do the spell I have instructed you about. Remember my warnings: this is a potentially dangerous spell to get wrong, so use utmost caution. Remember; do _not_ flick your wrist. Now, Miss Evans and Mister Snape, pair up. Mister Lupin and Gravis…"

Lily's head shot up from where she had been resting it on the next. With a look of pure horror, she turned to stare across the classroom at Severus Snape, who gave her a hopeful half smile.

Lily nearly cried.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Lily stumbled from the classroom with her fellow students, most of them smelling unpleasantly of smoke and the musty scent of cats. Snape trailed behind her, hair occasionally flashing random colours – courtesy of the Marauders, of course.

Lily's first try at the difficult spell had resulted in an explosion of actual _cats_. The startled and very frightened cats had promptly panicked and wreaked havoc on the terrified students. It had taken thirty minutes to Vanish all of the very furious cats and Lily had received her very first detention and a telling-off from the professor. Her second had try managed to blow up half the classroom.

To say that the professor was displeased would have been the most spectacular understatement of the century.

Snape still babbled apologies in her ear, and she tried hard to ignore him as she attempted to mend her bag as she pushed through a crowd of chattering students. His hair flashed a spectacular shade of blinding hot pink and she winced as the greasy hair caught the light. He continued to chatter at her as she sprinted for the Divination classroom. He shouted apologies after her even as she disappeared from sight, then dismally turned and walked towards the Potions classroom.

Panting, head pounding agonizingly, and stomach growling reproachfully, Lily arrived ten minutes late. The professor turned to survey her with a saddened look.

"Alas, I foresaw that you would be rather…late," Professor Cassandra said sadly, ghosting towards her. Lily shuddered as the professor examined her, clouded grey eyes looking distant. After a moment, she drifted off towards the rest of the class, who sat on ugly purple armchairs, and began to lecture once again on reading crystal balls.

Lily sneezed at the incense drifting from near the fireplace and the professor turned around instantly to hurry back towards her.

"Oh dear…I foresee that you will have a rather dreadful disease…a most debilitating illness indeed…" the professor said in a misty voice, faded red hair swinging under her many gauzy veils as she bobbed around Lily. "What do you say? Do you think, as I do, that this disease could possibly be deadly? Or that it might permanently cripple you?" the woman almost seemed excited by the thought.

In response, Lily sneezed again. Professor Cassandra sighed and turned towards the rest of the class, large misty eyes passing over them all. As one, they shivered. Lily, subdued and unnaturally quiet, sat down next to a tall Ravenclaw boy.

"Hello," he said when he saw her, brown eyes lighting up. His voice was high and delighted and Lily had to fight the urge to wince. He stuck out a hand, grinning broadly. "My name's Eric!"

"Lily," she said, shaking his head and flinching gingerly when he shook it animatedly, nearly pulling her arm off. She settled down next to him and, for the next hour, attempted to filter out the sound of Professor Cassandra. She closed her eyes and tried to rest, sneezing occasionally as the fire crackled and incense burned.

Unfortunately, Eric seemed to take her silence as sign that something was wrong, and kept elbowing her and asking her in the same squeaky voice if she was okay. She didn't even get a moment of rest. Lily exited the classroom an hour later, even more tired, hungry, bad-tempered, and unhappy than before. Her head pounded painfully in the bright light outside the classroom and her allergies had chosen to act up. She rubbed at her rapidly reddening nose and sneezed miserably again.

Mary spotted her the moment she entered the Great Hall, and despite her many protests, promptly steered her back outside.

"Food!" Lily protested, struggling vainly against Mary, who was surprisingly strong when determined. She shook her head furiously and reached out as though she could touch the food from where she stood, thirty feet away. Mary ignored her, and with one final shove, pushed her into the Entrance Hall.

Defeated, Lily slumped down onto the steps. "Why did you do that?" she whined to Mary as the other girl settled beside her. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Potter," she said simply. It was enough. Lily sighed and nodded, trying to ignore the grumbling of her stomach. It didn't help at all that Snape spotted her moments later. Lily and Mary sprinted back into a corridor as Snape chased her, shouting apologies after her.

Lily slid down the wall several minutes later, panting slightly as Mary sat beside her, arms wrapped around her torso as she wheezed weakly. Fortunately, they seemed to have lost Snape – he seemed to be extremely determined to regain her friendship today, and Lily wasn't quite sure why.

She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and simply enjoying the silence and solitude of it – though Mary's breathing ruined it slightly. The sun filtering in from the window adjacent pooled around her, and for one golden minute, there was nothing better in the world.

Then Potter rounded the corner.

She would have recognised those footsteps anywhere – Potter had an odd gait, and one she had rapidly memorized while trying frantically to avoid him. It had saved her many times, and this time was no different. She scrambled to her feet and broke into a head-long sprint, Mary puffing slightly behind her.

"Hey there, Evans," called that dreaded voice from behind her. She sped up.

Before long, the sound of footsteps behind her was a constant reminder of just how _close _he was getting. He was catching up. She whirled and then ran past him, laughing at the glimpse of his shocked face before he turned as well and chased her.

Mary had long since fallen behind, and Lily lost herself in the chase. Nothing else existed in her world but the sound of footsteps behind her and the pounding of her feet as she sprinted down the lengthy corridor – in a strange way, it was the most fun she'd had all day.

Then she turned the corner, and – far, far too late, realised exactly where she'd gone. She tried to backpedal frantically, but the sound of Potter huffing behind her – if nothing else – quickly prompted her to start sprinting across the Entrance Hall, students diving out of their way as they went.

"Lily!"

It was Snape.

Lily groaned with what little breath remained and tried to turn around, but James was already there. She let out a little squeak and took a quick step back. Both Snape and Potter were approaching her, and neither of them had noticed the other.

"Lily," said Snape as he approached, black eyes looking hopeful. "There you are. Listen, I'm so sorry…"

"Evans! Why did you run?" Potter seemed genuinely confused, she thought cynically, narrowing her eyes. A charming smile replaced the look quickly. "Was the prospect of my devilishly handsome face too much for you to bear?"

Lily let out a wordless snarl. Both of them walked towards her, looks of open happiness on their face.

"Lily!" another voice called, and she turned towards them, desperate for reinforcements. The sight of Eric the squeaky Ravenclaw only dampened her spirits. He approached her as well, big stupid grin plastered all over his face.

"-Want to go out?"

"-I'm so sorry-"

"Come with me!"

"-Forgive me?"

"-Like to go to Hogsmeade?"

"-Lily, you should-"

"-Come on, Evans! Come with me-"

"-Was a mistake-"

All three of walked forward and she backed even further into the corner. All at once, they seemed to notice each other.

"Snivellus!"

"Potter!"

"James Potter?"

The Ravenclaw seemed awed. Lily, on the other hand, wished she could sink through stone.

Both Potter and Snape were drawing their wands.

_Maybe they'll finish each other off,_ she thought dismally as another, far taller, figure broke off from the crowd and approached.

"Miss Evans! Serving detention on Friday…"

Lily nodded distractedly, brief snatches Potter and Snape's conversation drifting to her.

"Idiot!"

"Git!"

"Stupid prat!"

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall continued to chatter at Lily, whose head was about to explode – or just melt, she wasn't sure which.

"-With Filch. Cleaning up a corridor covered in vomit…"

"Stupid piece of-"

"You're a piece-"

"And you'll end at twelve," concluded the professor, who hadn't noticed the two boys standing across from her. "Clear?"

"As crystal, Professor," Lily said, smiling weakly. She hadn't taken in a word of it. The professor nodded and left promptly. The fight between Severus and James had escalated.

"PRAT! You couldn't even stand a cauldron the right way up!"

"Greasy oversized bat! With your hair, you could _fill_ a cauldron with grease!"

"STOP IT!" Lily shouted, feeling as if one more loud noise would explode her head. She pointed at Snape, and it was like a malediction. Snape stepped back instinctually, and feeling it would be safer, so did Potter. "Leave, Sev. Now."

Snape gazed at Lily imploringly, but she shook her head. He bowed his head and skulked off, hunched shoulders and greasy curtains of hair distinctive as ever. Lily watched him go for a moment, then tore her eyes from him to glare at James. He smiled appealingly and bowed.

"Jam- Potter. Please leave. You're disturbing your fellow students," she said coldly. James didn't even miss a beat. He bowed deeply to her, a broad grin plastered on his handsome, then got on his knees and took her hand. She snatched it back and folded her arms across her chest, glaring threateningly at him.

"Beautiful lovely Lily!" he shouted in a voice that was far too loud for even the large room they were in. She cursed his sense of drama. Lily's head gave a particularly nasty throb. "The fairest in all of the land! Gorgeous, wonderful, sweet, and lovely Lily, my heart aches at the thought of you!"

Lily closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her stomach growled painfully and she felt shaky with hunger. The world swayed. He continued, wind-milling his arms grandly.

"You are the light of my life, the sun to my Earth!" he proclaimed, sweeping a thin arm around him broadly. A girl giggled. Lily's eyes itched and if she had collapsed onto the floor – most likely from hunger, she thought miserably, blaming Mary endlessly - she thought she would have fallen asleep right there.

"My lovely Lily!" he cried, and his voice reached new levels of earsplitting. Lily whimpered involuntarily. "Please, my heart will shatter into infinitesimal pieces and crumble to dust if you do not grant me the pleasure that mere words cannot describe – your presence on a _date_!" he swept into a grand bow. He popped back up, grinning broadly. "Well?"

Eyes narrowed coldly, she shook her head.

"Come on, Lily!"

"No!"

"Just one date, Lily-flower!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Please, my wondrous Lily-flo-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

The Entrance Hall fell silent as the shout echoed around the expansive room. Lily's chest heaved with the sharp breaths she was taking and she was ashamed to feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. The entire room seemed to spin as her head throbbed once more.

"I hate you, James. You don't even care about me – all you want is to prove that you can date me! You are the most loathsome, foul, disgusting creature that has _ever_ lived! You are little more than a slimy slug oozing around the place – I hate you!" she shouted. The entire room was silent, and she could feel every single eye boring into her. James had gone still and silent; his mouth still hung open comically.

"You are just- just _foul!_ You bigheaded useless lump of congealed filth!" she shrieked. The world was blurry and she impatiently swiped a tear from her cheek.

"I hate you, James Potter, and I just wish you'd _leave me ALONE!_"

The words echoed in the silent room. James still hadn't moved. Lily rubbed at her eyes frantically.

"Just leave me alone, okay? I really hate you. I wish you j-just leave me al-alone!" she whispered. James' face was unmoving. Then, face still cold and frozen, his lips moved.

"Fine."

As if the single word had broken the floodgates, Lily burst into tears and ran from the silent room, eyes blurry as she fled. Behind her, James sat on the floor, unmoving and cold, face giving no hint to the turmoil within.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Since I'm absolutely exhausted, I'm going to keep this quick. Hope it turned out okay. I would really, really, **__**really**__** love reviews, and thank you for reading!**_


	13. Alone

_**Author's Notes: Once again, I'm really sorry I didn't get this updated for a few days! Life's been really crazy. Sorry this is a bit short and probably not all that great. Thanks.**_

_**

* * *

**_

"So how did the attempt go?"Sirius asked, grinning broadly as James entered the dormitory with his shoulders hunched and a rather unhappy look on his face.

"Disastrously," James said curtly, flopping down on his bed. Sirius didn't even have the good manners to look surprised, James thought sourly.

"Well, we'll just have to revise the pla-"

"No," James said sharply. Sirius' mouth shut with a snap. He opened, then closed his mouth for a second, then recovered.

"Come on, Prongs! We'll just-"

"I said _no,_" James said stubbornly. Sirius froze. Remus dropped his book and moved cautiously towards him while Peter stared confusedly. James scowled bad-temperedly, hazel eyes narrowed and distinctly irritable.

"I'm not going to use the plan. I'm going to…" he hesitated for a moment. It felt as if the words were concreting something, as if once he had said it, he couldn't take it back. He recklessly plunged on, feeling an oddly giddy sensation as he spoke. He felt as if he were about to leap from a cliff - and it was positively exhilarating. "I'm going to leave Evans alone. I'm going to… ignore her. I'll treat her like any other student," he said in a rush. He grinned broadly at the others, who seemed frozen, expecting them to join in on his revelation.

Peter was the first to move. He crawled over from his bed over to James' and peered searchingly at him – for what, James hadn't the faintest. Peter placed a hand on James' forehead and stared into his eyes questioningly. "Evans hasn't Imperiused you, has she?" he asked tentatively. James scowled, annoyed that they hadn't realised his stroke of genius, his wonderful revelation.

Sirius considered him thoughtfully for a minute. "Are you doing drugs?" he asked after a moment. James spluttered furiously.

"No!" he said. Sirius did not look entirely convinced. "Evans has possessed you, hasn't she?" he said. Sirius prodded him with a kipper he had somehow managed to sneak up into the dormitory, all the while eyeing him suspiciously. Remus sighed, then smacked the kipper out of his hands. It went flying and Sirius flung himself after it with a yelp, hurtling over the side of his bed as if it would disappear if he didn't grab it. Remus rolled his eyes, then turned back to James.

"Are you serious, James?" he asked cautiously. James didn't even have to think about it.

"I am," he said firmly. Remus sighed, already returning to his book. Behind them, Sirius flailed about, decimating Peter's belongings and tossing his bed-sheets while looking for his kipper. Peter hovered to the side, beating Sirius over the head with his pillow. Sirius completely ignored him

"I hope you know what you're doing, James," he said. Secretly, James knew he didn't.

* * *

"He's so foul," Lily said, sniffing as Mary patted her head. She curled up a little tighter and frowned at her pillow as though it had personally wronged her. "All he ever says is 'Go out with me, Evans,' just slightly modified to fit the situation," she said bitterly, punching her pillow into a more comfortable shape.

"I know," Mary said sympathetically, stroking her hair. It seemed like that was all she had said in the last hour. Lily sighed and rolled over.

"I just want him to leave me alone. He's so infantile…and whiny…not to mention he's a stalker…" Lily subsided into unhappy muttering and clutched her pillow to her. After a minute, she fell silent. Mary peered at her quizzically. Lily's eyes were closed and her breathing was light. Mary shook her head and stretched, yawning tiredly.

The door to the dormitory opened with a loud bang and Mary whirled with a little growl. Behind her, Lily groaned and sat up. Clarice strode through, humming and looking far too self-satisfied for Mary's tastes.

"Why are _you_ looking so happy?" Mary asked warily. Clarice smirked broadly.

"Well, seeing as Lily has ruined any chance whatsoever with James, I reckon it won't be long before he realises I'm far better suited for him… we'll marry, of course, and have five children together, and a dog…" she sighed happily, looking as if her wildest dreams had come true. Lily was silent behind her, but Mary was far too annoyed to not do anything.

She grabbed the closest thing available and hurled it at Clarice.

"Get out," she said.

Clarice blinked, looking utterly astonished. She gave Mary a nasty glare, then attempted to exit dramatically – something that is rather hard to do when you have a pair of lacy, pink, heart-covered pants on your head. Lily snorted from behind her.

"Did you have to throw those at her? Really, they don't suit her at all."

Mary turned to look at her, then giggled. Lily grinned, and before long, the two of them were in hysterics.

"The look on her face…" Mary sniggered. Lily snorted in a most undignified way, which only set the two of them off again. Diana poked her head out from behind her curtains, a sour look on her face.

"Shut it," she snarled before wrenching her bed curtains shut so sharply they came off. She fixed them in an instant, and with another vicious look and a growl, she climbed back into bed. Mary and Lily stared in surprise before looking at each other and bursting into laughter again.

* * *

Lily whispered obscenities under her breath as she flipped frantically through a massive, stained book. She trailed a finger down the page, scanning the words carefully.

"Stupid book… why the bloody hell would someone write this disgusting excuse for…did someone vomit on the book? Is that…blood?" she squinted at it, then deciding it wasn't worth the time, turned the page and continued to scan the book. Madam Pince, the new librarian, shot her a nasty look as she bustled past, arms full of books. Lily ignored her.

"Polyjuice Potion…Polyjuice Potion… Oh, for Merlin's sake," she snarled. She slammed the book shut and once again ignored Madam Pince's glare.

"Need help?"

A tall figure slid into the seat beside her, grinning brightly at her. She looked over to see James.

"Oh," she said, making no attempt to hide her disappointment. "It's you."

Rather than saying something crude or flippant like she expected him to, James merely looked rather curious. "Were you expecting someone?"

Thrown off by the distinct lack of 'Lily-flower' or rude propositions, Lily blinked. After a second of James looking at her searchingly she roused herself quickly and tried to cover. "Er- I just thought that maybe Marlene…I haven't seen her for a while and I hoped…"

"McKinnon?" James asked with no signs of looking flippant or even flirtatious like he often did. "Would you like me to help you look for her?"

Still confused, Lily stared at him for a minute. He raised an eyebrow questioningly and she blushed embarrassedly. "N-no…She'll turn up, I'm sure," Lily said before returning to her book. "Why, in the name of Merlin's wrinkled socks, do they not have a glossary or – or have it in alphabetical order or _something_?" she demanded absently, pawing through the pages.

"I've always wondered that," James said, trying to read her essay over her shoulder. Without even looking from her book, she flicked it away from him. He grinned easily. "I think it's just to annoy you."

"Almost certainly," she agreed. "And it's succeeding."

"It's their grand plan to take over the world," James said lazily, leaning back in his chair. "By driving you batty with their silly books," he flipped a careless hand at the many books surrounding them. "Everyone will be too annoyed to fight back and they'll take over."

"Of course," she said dryly. Deciding she could study better without James Potter, no matter how mature he was attempting to act – and she was sure he was acting – she stood and gathered her books and flung them in her bag. "Goodbye, Potter."

"Bye," he said easily, leaning back in his chair and tilting it on the back legs like she was sure he knew she loathed. She gritted her teeth bad-temperedly. "Be careful, Evans."

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning around. James grinned in a way that was not at all amused. It was actually rather dangerous.

"Come on, Evans! I'm pretty certain you've seen the posters spouting nonsense around here. Just keep an eye out, okay?"

She nodded, and with the uneasy feeling of something that was not unlike fear, she retreated from the library, eyes clouded with thought.

James watched her go, already pulling his map from his robes.

* * *

The air was distinctly cold and sharp as James tucked his broom under his arm and strolled towards a thin figure. The sun's dying rays cast a slight glow to her and James had to squint to see her. The wind whipped his hair around and made his eyes water quite painfully. The girl ahead of him didn't even move as a particularly strong gust of wind nearly blew James off the ramparts. An old and battered broomstick lay abandoned next to her as she stared moodily across the grounds at the lake.

"Hey, McKinnon!" James called, raising a hand to tousle his hair – not that it needed it. Marlene looked up at him dully, then recognised him.

"Oh," she said bleakly, turning around to stare at the lake again. "It's you."

James had the distinct feeling of déjà vu as he crossed the thin rampart and plopped himself next to Marlene, who continued to look anywhere but him. They sat like that for a moment, the silence billowing uncomfortably. James fidgeted.

"So, McKinnon…" James tried awkwardly. Marlene stared away from him. James sighed. "Marlene?" he said tentatively. She didn't move. "McKinnon!" he barked. Marlene sighed. James curled his hands up irritably and blew on them, hoping to warm them up. He shivered slightly as a small snowflake drifted past him. He was uncomfortably reminded of his disastrous date with Lily and the thought didn't particularly endear him to Marlene.

"McKinnon, talk to me," he snapped. Marlene looked at him, blinked, then returned her gaze to across the grounds. James resisted the urge to pick up her battered broomstick and beat her over the head with it. Deciding he should wait until she was ready to talk, James picked idly at a spot of moss on the bleak ramparts. It was several minutes before Marlene even moved.

"How have you been?" she asked, voice rusty with disuse. James lifted his fingers and examined the greenish sludge under his fingernails, deliberating on his answer.

"Oh, absolutely _spiffing_, all things considered," he said sarcastically. Marlene turned her head to look at him, eyes dark and blank, but he thought he saw curiosity spark in their depths. James ran a hand through his hair, shivering slightly. She returned to staring into the distance and it was a moment before she spoke.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing really. Just that four students were Stunned, the walls were covered in Voldemort's propaganda yet again, and they covered the common room with red paint. Nothing much," he said. Marlene turned to look at him, looking alarmed.

"_What?"_ she demanded, sounding amazed.

"Nothing you wouldn't know if you hadn't abandoned your best friend," James said, a spark of irritation growing within him. Marlene didn't answer or even move for a second. She might have been a statue carved from granite had it not been for the slight movement of her chest.

"What have you been doing up here, Marlene?" James said exasperatedly. Marlene blinked slowly.

"I," she said. "Have been thinking."

She was quiet once again. James entertained notions of beating her with her own broomstick once again.

"And have you had any great flashes of brilliance?" he said, annoyed. "Any sparks of inspiration?"

"No," she said simply before going silent once again. James closed his eyes, praying for the patience not to shove her off the wall or strangle her. Wind seemed to tear at him, cold like icy daggers slipping through his robes and freezing exposed flesh. He shivered miserably.

"Here," she said, waving her wand. There was a small hiss and James relaxed as a bubble of heat enveloped him.

"Thanks," he muttered. Marlene nodded. "Come on, McKinnon. I didn't fly the whole way up here for you to act like a complete and utter nutter. You're being crazier than Padfoot – and believe me, that's impressive. He tried to stab me with a kipper earlier because he thought I had been possessed by Evans. At least I think that's why. Don't ask me to understand the mind of a nutter," he said with a flippant wave of his hand. He thought he might have seen a slight curve of her lips.

"I'm just…feeling a bit off. I feel a bit…floaty," Marlene said, swaying slightly. James snorted.

"That may have come from not eating for almost two days," he said. Marlene turned astonished eyes on him.

"Two days?" she repeated. "Oh Merlin…I missed classes…McGonagall's going to slaughter me…" she breathed.

"Break your leg," James offered with a grin. "McGonagall has a soft spot for injured people."

Marlene snorted, looking decidedly unamused. "I should just jump off of the wall," she said, looking vaguely tempted. "I'd be worse off if I didn't and went back to the castle…When she gets her claws into me…"

James grinned. "Well that's your fault," he said merrily, standing and offering a hand in a comradely fashion. Still looking grumpy, Marlene accepted it and stood. She swayed badly and nearly pitched off the side of the ramparts as she tottered towards him. Looking worried, James started forward, but she waved him off.

"I'm fine," she said, stumbling towards her broom. She staggered as she slung a leg over it, but when she kicked off, she looked steady as ever. "Coming? You're so slow, James," she called mockingly, hovering over his head. James grinned and hopped on his broom.

"Ooh, you're going to regret that, McKinnon," he called to her, speeding towards her. She laughed fearlessly, dodging him and swooping under him.

"_Sure_ I am," she said. "That is, if you're quick enough to even catch up."

She let out a whoop of laughter and hurtled towards the castle, hair whipping behind her. James grinned before following her, letting out a joyful shout of his own as he shot forward. Marlene shot him a mocking grin and did an intricate loop. James whirled and flew towards her, her laughter ringing in his ears as she reversed, then managed to fly behind him.

"Very amusing, McKinnon," he called after her. She grinned.

"Yes, I thought so," she said, performing an effortless loop around James. He watched her fly around him, smiling and shaking his head slightly. Marlene shot towards the Keeper's goals, then at the last moment jerked her broom up. She flew almost straight up before dropping into a dive.

She flew towards him and hovered next to him for a moment. He could see her shivering as she got close, robes soaked with dew.

"Hey," he called as she flew up again until she was little more than a dot in the sky. She shot down again to hover a few hundred yards away from him, the look of exhilaration and joy covering her face. "Maybe you should come inside! You need to eat!" he shouted. She grinned at him, looking recklessly fearless as she dived once more.

"I'm fine!" she shouted back, grin plastered all over her face. "I feel grea-"

It was one of those moments where time seemed to suddenly stop. James saw Marlene's eyes widen sharply as the dew on her broom made her hands slip off mid-dive. For one frozen second, he thought he could even see the snowflakes nestled in her inky black hair and the surprise in her eyes – then she dropped like a rock.

"Marlene!" he shouted, urging his broom forward – but somehow, he knew he would never make it in time. For a moment, it seemed as though all he could see where her eyes – wide, brown, and utterly terrified. He focused on her as he shot forward, his broom reaching speeds he had thought previously impossible. There was an almighty crash, and the entire world went black.

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_**Author's Notes: Well, it's a bit short, so sorry for that. I hope it's okay. As always, I would really love to hear what you think! **_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	14. Waking Up

_**Author's Notes: I forgot to mention in previous notes: To Colie88, thank you very much for reading, and yes, they are in sixth-year. **_

_**Again, I'm really sorry I haven't updated recently. I've been really busy. I would absolutely love it if you could review. **_

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Pain. That was all James could feel. His head felt as if someone was pounding it with a sledgehammer, his right arm felt like thousands of tiny needles were stabbing him, and he felt like he might vomit at any moment. Moaning, he rolled over and nearly fell off the tiny bed.

There were sharp inhalations of breath from around him and he could hear someone rushing forward.

"Hey, Prongs."

The voice was familiar. For a second, James fought to remember who it was.

"Are you awake?"

Sirius.

Right. James blearily forced his eyes open and squinted at the blurred shape beside him. He groped on the small table beside him for his glasses. A clumsy hand reached past him and grabbed them, then ungracefully shoved them on his face. James let out a croak of thanks, then struggled to sit up. The grinning faces of three boys swam into view. James stared at them, head pounding so badly he could barely even think. They looked very familiar...

"Madam Pomfrey!" a different voice called. This one was slightly higher and sounded rather worried. James' forehead wrinkled as he waded through his sluggish memories and struggled to remember the owner of the voice. A rather plump face floated to the surface of his memories. Paul? No…

"Yes, Mister Pettigrew?"

Peter. James gazed blearily around. A slightly plump woman with a heavily lined face was measuring out what looked like Skelegrow. James groaned slightly at the thought.

"Are you okay, Prongs? Does something hurt?"

_I just fell off my broomstick,_ he thought sourly, though his lips couldn't move quite yet. _Of course something hurts._

James shook his head as Madam Pomfrey attempted to spoon a bit of the foul tasting liquid into his mouth.

"Mister Potter," she sounded annoyed. "I know it isn't exactly pleasant, but I'm afraid you must take it."

James sighed, the sound seeming to rip painfully at his throat, and allowed her to administer the potion. He nearly retched at the taste and only made it through by making rude faces at Sirius, who made obscene gestures at him behind Madam Pomfrey's back.

"Is J-Potter awake?"

James would know that voice anywhere. He turned his head eagerly to see Lily pushing past Remus and Sirius to gaze down at him, a girl – Mary? - standing unobtrusively a few feet behind her. Lily looked slightly embarrassed; there was a tinge of pink in her cheeks. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and straightened slightly.

"Potter," she said rather formally. She seemed to realise how cold she sounded and flushed slightly. "James. I- er… I just wanted to thank you for saving Marlene," she said, face slowly turning the approximate colour of a tomato. Her face brightened somewhat and she gestured at the bed behind her. "She's alright and I think she's awake. Just… thanks, James."

James could have sung. True, Lily looked awkward and rather embarrassed, but she was calling him_ James_. He smiled weakly and Lily smiled in return.

"Yeah, thank you!" Mary piped up, beaming. She attempted to hug James, was shooed off by Madam Pomfrey, and ran off to sit next to Marlene. Lily managed a smile, though it didn't quite reach her tired eyes. She waved and walked off to sit next to Mary. James watched her go rather wistfully.

"That _was_ really impressive," a mild voice said from the corner. James turned his head to see Remus sitting in a chair, smiling at him. James grinned back, though the movement seemed to hurt his face. His sluggish memories seemed to be returning. "Everyone thinks you're a hero."

"Though I'll have to take points off for breaking your arm," Sirius butted in. He stroked his imaginary goatee thoughtfully. "And for bashing your head on a window sill. Very clumsy heroism, Prongs," Sirius shook his head sadly. James threw a pillow at him in return. Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat as Sirius raised the pillow threateningly.

"I'm afraid you'll have to leave your hero for the night," she said, flicking her wand. All the lights dimmed. James had to squint to even see Peter, who hovered next to his bed, absentmindedly straightening the pillows.

Ten minutes of protesting later, James' three friends trooped from the Hospital Wing, looking disheartened. Lily and Mary had left minutes before, Lily shooting one last grateful look at James. James smiled at the thought.

Sirius mimed throwing a cloak over himself and winked. James nodded with a grin as Peter gave him an encouraging nod before leaving, making a show of sighing and looking back sadly. Madam Pomfrey, looking quite satisfied, gave James one last potion and bustled off to her office.

James laid back, head throbbing dully. He could hear Marlene growling bad-temperedly and muttering curses from beside him and didn't envy Madam Pomfrey in the morning. James yawned tiredly. He could hear the faint scratches of a quill from Madam Pomfrey's office. The sound was soothing and quiet.

James closed his eyes, promising himself it would only be for a second.

A minute later, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Lily and Mary hurried back to the common room, Mary stifling an occasional yawn. Lily didn't feel the least bit tired – in contrast, her limbs seemed to burn with energy. She half skipped to the safety of her dormitory, Mary panting behind her.

She spoke the password to the portrait and pushed inside, bouncing slightly.

"_I_ am going to sleep," Mary announced with dignity, scowling as Lily ran around the common room and walking up the steps that led to the girls' dormitory. Lily sighed and half-heartedly followed her, dragging her feet with each step. Every few seconds, she glanced longingly at the portrait hole.

The moment she entered the room, she knew something was wrong. Muffled sobs were issuing from behind Clarice's bed. Lily instinctually drew her wand and crept forward.

"Clarice," she called. "Are you okay?"

There was a pause in the sniffling. Clarice blew her nose loudly but remained silent. Lily stood frozen, debating whether or not to yank aside the curtains and ask what was wrong or to just ignore it and go to bed. Friendship – or at least as close as it got with Clarice - won out.

Gripping her wand firmly in case Clarice attacked, Lily pushed the bed curtains out of the way. Clarice paused in her sobbing to glare at Lily with red rimmed eyes. She was curled up and hugging her pillow, an ever growing pile of handkerchiefs littering her bed.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked tentatively. For a moment, Lily thought Clarice would leap at her and attempt to claw her eyes out. She certainly looked angry enough.

"No!" Clarice howled suddenly. She balled up one of the handkerchiefs and threw it at Lily, but she dodged it easily and sat down next to Clarice. The girl eyed her nastily for a moment before letting out a miserable wail. Mary poked her head out from her bed to peer at them questioningly. Lily just shrugged.

"I hate you, I hate you!" Clarice whined, hugging her pillow more securely. Lily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And why would that be?" she inquired. Clarice pouted like a child for a minute.

"You stupid – stupid brat!" she said, actually shaking her fist at Lily. "They wouldn't let me in to see James! I'm practically his _girlfriend!_" she stressed the word, eyeing Lily as though the other might suddenly break down. When she didn't, Clarice continued. "They let _you_ in! _You!"_

Lily closed her eyes and sighed, wondering what would happen if she strangled Clarice with her own bed curtains. "Clarice, I was only there because Marlene was hurt. You know – my _best friend?_"

Clarice pouted again, looking sulky. "Well, I still hate you," she said, shoving Lily off her bed. She scowled down at her childishly and yanked her curtains back together. Lily hit the floor with a yelp.

"Well, I don't think I'll try to help you again," Lily muttered, rubbing her back and retreating to her bed. She fluffed her pillows and straightened the blankets obsessively until a thrown book from Mary prompted her to dive into her bed for safety.

She scowled at the blanket covered lump before lying back down. She stared at the ceiling and punched her pillow into shape.

"With friends like you…"

* * *

"…Who needs enemies," James muttered, hungrily gazing back in the direction of the kitchen as his friends dragged him along, laughing.

"Come on, Prongs!" Sirius hissed, halting abruptly and looking around the corner for any signs of Mrs. Norris or Filch. Satisfied, he darted forward, dragging the other three with him. "It's the perfect time! With you supposedly in the Hospital Wing, no one will suspect us!"

"Right," came Remus' muffled voice. With difficulty, he extracted his face from the wall. "Of _course _no one will suspect the blatantly Marauder prank. I mean, _everyone _in the school frequently pranks Slytherins."

"Are you in this or not?" Sirius hissed, whirling around and sending Peter colliding into the wall. There was a look James didn't quite recognise in his aristocratically handsome face. It was a sharp, fierce look. It was the look he had worn when he had told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow. "This – is – _perfect."_

"We'll help you," Remus said resignedly, sighing and looking as though he were already mentally calculating how many detentions they would receive. Sirius looked satisfied. He looked around, checking one last time for Filch or Mrs. Norris. Then he hurried forward to the damp stone wall.

"Salazar," he hissed at the wall. The concealed door slid open with a soft whisper. Sirius grinned, and with one last gesture to the rest of the Marauders, they entered the Slytherin common room.

* * *

Severus Snape woke up slowly. He yawned and sat up, shivering slightly and wincing when his feet touched the icy stone ground. He hopped the entire way to the bathroom, attempting to avoid contact with the cold and slightly damp stone.

A few minutes later, he exited, hair shining even more greasily than before. He scowled at his snoring housemates, kicked a Firewhiskey bottle from his path, and walked into the common room. A pretty seventh-year girl nodded a greeting at him, concentrating on charming a quill to dance across her palm. A pair of students were playing chess in the corner, and some Gobstone playing second-years shrieked loudly as a jet of murky green liquid narrowly missed them. Snape ignored them all, a small scowl wrinkling his forehead.

He settled in one of the high-backed chairs near the fireplace and pulled his homework towards him. For a few minutes he worked in silence, focusing only on his Potions homework. A hulking figure sat down next to him and he glanced up to see Mulciber grinning at him, though there was no trace of humor in his brutish features.

"Yes?" Snape said coldly, raising an eyebrow. He had perfected the look of icy disdain over the years, but Mulciber looked utterly unaffected. He smiled even more widely, exposing teeth that seemed sharper than average.

"Lucius Malfoy is going to be in Hogsmeade next visit," Mulciber said. "If you're still interested-"

"-I am," interrupted Snape. Mulciber continued.

"-it would be in your best interests to come," he said, standing. He continued to smile down at Snape, who did not like the fact that Mulciber was quite a bit taller than him. "Yaxley might be coming as well. He's one of the senior member-"

"Shh!" Snape snarled, looking around. The only person who seemed interested in them was Libera Gravis. Her grey eyes gleamed and she smiled coldly at the two of them in a way that was not at all pleasant. Mulciber began to draw his wand, but Snape stopped him. "You can't hex her in the middle of the common room," he said. "_Wait."_

Mulciber gave him a nasty look and yanked his wand away from Snape, who eyed him coldly, his hand inches from his own wand. Mulciber gave him one last sneer and backed off, retreating through the door in the wall. Snape returned to his essay.

Seconds later there was a horrendous shriek. Snape was on his feet in seconds, wand gripped firmly in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Gobstones playing second-years starting to turn, eyes wide. Libera crouched near her chair, wand aimed steadily at the door. There was another ear-splitting scream and Mulciber stumbled back through the door, clawing at himself.

For a moment, Snape could do nothing but gape.

There seemed nothing different about him, nothing wrong. But Mulciber continued to howl, ripping at his hair and clothes, stomping the floor. Snape took a step towards him, wand still gripped cautiously. Mulciber toppled, eyes rolling in pure terror.

"GET OFF!" he screamed. Snape frowned and very cautiously knelt next to him. Libera advanced carefully, eyes narrowed. A slender figure descended down the stairs from the boys' dormitory and peered about the common room, grey eyes gleaming with curiosity. Snape had to fight down the instinctive surge of pure hatred at the sight of him, though it was no fault of the boy's. Regulus Black took a step forward, eyeing Mulciber.

"What's happening?" he had to shout to be heard over Mulciber, who ripped at his clothes in a frenzy.

"I don't know!" Snape shouted back. "He went outside and-"

Regulus frowned, then walked forward, wand gripped tightly in his hand. Libera easily fell into step beside him.

"I'm coming," the seven-year said instantly. Regulus scowled, but nodded. The two walked forward carefully. Regulus poked his head around the door, looking around the corridor.

"I don't see-" he began. He never finished the sentence. He reeled backwards, letting out an unearthly scream. He retreated backwards, quivering furiously. "No… NO! No, no, no! Stay away, stay away…" he said piteously, throwing himself to the floor. Beside him, Libera was thrashing around on the ground, howling and swatting at the air around her as though it were filled with flying insects. All three of them clawed wildly at themselves, each other, and the ground, screaming all the while. Snape stood frozen, his head throbbing painfully as the screams echoed around the room. The second-years were huddled in the corner, wailing loudly and adding to the din.

"What's going on here?"

The shout was furious and Snape turned to see McGonagall stride across the room in a swirl of tartan. Her eyes were narrowed and angry, and her lips were the thinnest of lines.

"Professor!" he shouted, forcibly swallowing his pride. "You need to help them – there's something wrong with them!"

The professor's eyes widened, but she hurried to the side of Libera and Regulus. She examined them for a minute, ignoring their screams. After a moment, she pulled her wand from her pocket and tapped Libera once, whispering several words. The girl instantly stilled, laying on her side and gasping for breath, eyes still wide with fear. She repeated the process with Regulus, who was thrashing around so badly she could barely even touch him. She murmured a spell, then hurried to Mulciber.

Snape, against his better judgment, sat next to Regulus, who was lying still on the floor, blood oozing from his mouth. He had bit his tongue. Snape sighed lazily and waved his wand. The blood vanished in a flash of light, but Regulus still showed no signs of wanting to move.

Mulciber was still wailing, but not out of fear anymore. Snape glanced at Professor McGonagall, and for the first time, he could understand why many were terrified of her. Her face could have been carved of stone for all it moved. Every line of her face was taut with fury and she was pale and obviously enraged.

"Potter," he heard her snarl under her breath. Snape's eyes widened, then narrowed angrily. She strode from the room, and for the first and likely the last time in his life, Snape found himself _almost_ feeling sorry for the Marauders.

Almost.

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_**Author's Notes: Again, it's a bit short but I realised how long it had been since I had updated and wrote it in a rush, so I'm sorry if there are any typos. If you see any, please tell me! It would be great if you could review and tell me what you thought of it.**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	15. Tears

_**Author's Notes: I am utterly mad. I really don't know why, but for some reason, I was halfway through writing this chapter before I realised I was writing it in first person! I don't know why. If you see any stray 'I's, just notify me, and I'll (hopefully) figure out how to edit it out. I'm also quite sorry it took so long - I've been so lazy! Plus, I encountered a lot of problems while trying to upload the chapter. **__**really didn't want me to put up the chapter. **__**But enough about my whining.**_

_**As ever, I would absolutely love reviews and I would like to thank you for reading!**_

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Lily strode across the Entrance Hall, yawning slightly. By her side, Mary and Marlene chattered about the upcoming Quidditch game. Lily tried to tune them out, but with very limited success. As they made their way past the hourglasses that held precious gems denoting house points, Mary suddenly froze, prompting Lily and Marlene to stare at her, eyebrows raised.

"Oh Merlin," Mary breathed, staring behind them. Lily wheeled around, already internally preparing herself for the worst. But she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Students passed, chattering idly to each other as they headed to the Great Hall. There was no screaming or shouting, no cries of dismay or horror.

"What?" Lily asked, bewildered. Mary, eyes wide with disbelief, slowly raised a trembling hand to point at one of the massive hourglasses. Lily squinted at them. Her mouth dropped open, as did Marlene's.

"What have they done?" Mary asked in tones of awed disbelief. "What have they _done?"_

Never more had Lily wanted to scream. The Gryffindor hourglass that had once been nearly full of glistening red rubies was now half empty, the few remaining gems twinkling in the light. There was little question as to whose fault it was. Marlene let out a little whimper and Lily wanted to do the same. The three stared in horror-struck silence as students parted around them, still talking and laughing. It seemed as if no one had even noticed yet.

Lily's mouth snapped shut and she clenched her fists.

_When I catch you, Potter,_ she vowed inwardly as Marlene stomped into the Great Hall, looking grumpier than ever. _When I catch you, you'll wish you had _never_ been born._

_

* * *

_

"I can't _believe _you would be so immature, reckless, and utterly _cruel_!" Professor McGonagall raged. James lowered his head contritely and took the opportunity to take a peek at Sirius. He sat straight in his chair, gazing directly forward and unmoving as McGonagall stomped across the tiny office. Sirius didn't look as if he had heard a single word.

Her fury was almost palpable and Peter cringed into the back of his chair as she sat down behind her desk, breathing heavily. Remus sat just as straight as Sirius, though he didn't look nearly so unaffected. James could see him swallowing hard and blinking quickly. Professor McGonagall turned on him abruptly.

"And _you,_ Mister Lupin!" she snarled. Remus sat straighter. "I have _never _been so utterly disappointed in my life! When Professor Dumbledore thought to make you Prefect, I vouched for you because I believed you were mature enough to handle it! I am extremely disgusted by all of your behavior," she snapped.

James frowned and sat up. This was an extremely low blow in his opinion. "It wasn't his fault at all," he protested. "We convinced him to do it – it was our fault, not his. He tried to tell us not to do it!"

"And we can see how well that worked out," she said icily. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples, darkly frowning. Her anger seemed to be fading, replaced by something that was far, far worse than screaming could ever be. She looked saddened and rather disappointed. James shrank down in his seat, and somehow knew the others were doing the same.

"I don't even want to look at you anymore. Please leave," she said. Slowly, feeling absolutely awful, James and his friends stood from their seats and slouched out of the room.

The walk to the common room was possibly the worst James had ever experienced. Perhaps it was the students loitering on the sides of the corridors, whispering behind their hands and pointed at him. Some didn't even bother to whisper.

The worst was the sight of Lily's face when they finally did reach the common room. She looked somehow sad, horrified, angry, and depressed all at once. James could have sworn his stomach was filled with lead as the four disgraced boys slowly made their way to the chairs near the fireplace and slumped into them. None of them spoke. What could they say?

A shadow fell over James, and he looked up slowly. It was Lily. She was biting her lip and looking as though she were bursting to say dozens of things. She settled for a simple, "You deserved it."

Nothing could have made him feel worse.

"I know," he replied. He couldn't say anything more; his throat tightened almost painfully. She looked as though she wanted to say something else. She hesitated for a minute, opening and closing her mouth several times. Finally, she just sighed and turned around to walk to her bed. James watched her go, heart heavy.

There was a moment of silence in which James' head buzzed painfully. He could almost feel the penetrating stares as whispering students gazed at them. It felt as though he was in a spotlight, and though this would have normally delighted him, at the moment it was sheer torture. Sirius spoke after a moment.

"We really made a mess of this one, didn't we?" he said. It was a rhetorical question. They all knew the answer to that. "At least we got Regulus," he said with a self-satisfied little smile as he stretched languidly in his seat. A pretty girl in the corner giggled. James couldn't even bring himself to feel the faintest modicum of satisfaction.

Eventually, all four of them departed for the boys' dormitories, each without a word.

There was nothing to say.

* * *

Lily sat on her bed, smoothing out the sheets one last time. The movement was smooth, methodical, robotic. It helped her not to think. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was think.

"I can't believe them," Mary breathed for what must have been the hundredth time. Lily didn't even have the energy to answer. Marlene, who was sprawled on her bed and staring into space, merely snorted.

"I wish I could kill them," Lily said, finally deciding her bed was neat enough. She stood up and slowly crossed the room and began to clean up some bits of parchment. Mary smiled weakly. "I don't even know how we're going to come back from this… this is going to ruin Gryffindor's winning streak for the house cup… first time in six years," she said in barely a whisper, screwing up a ball of parchment and throwing it in the bin. Marlene nodded absently.

"And most of all," Lily continued, her voice growing stronger with indignation. "I can't believe that they would torture those Slytherins like that! This is cruel even for them. Those foul, bigoted gits," she muttered, crossing the room and throwing herself on her bed. Mary raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"They are," Lily insisted, knowing Mary well enough to realise what she was thinking. "They're bigoted _gits _towards the Slytherins! Potter was absolutely foul towards Sev – Snape," she stuttered before wincing and continuing. "Before we were even Sorted! It's ridiculous and bigoted and – and – "

"And," Marlene interrupted. "I think you need to get to sleep. You're being hysterical."

"You're bloody _right,_ I'm being hysterical," Lily said angrily, rolling over. "Potter and his idiotic friends have lost us about two hundred points – and it wouldn't have been nearly so bad if Sirius didn't whine at McGonagall and lose even more! Idiots…" Lily subsided into muttering for a moment while Mary eyed her timidly. Marlene, who had long ago decided Lily was barking mad, merely closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

"Don't you think you're a bit… obsessed with them?" Mary said cautiously. This was the wrong thing to say. Lily sat up immediately, cheeks flushed with anger.

"No, I'm not!" Lily said with enough force that Mary flinched slightly. She sighed and relented somewhat. "Okay, maybe a bit…" she muttered unwillingly. Mary smiled and nodded as if in encouragement for her to go on. "But who's going to stop their stupid little schemes?" she demanded.

"You're barking," Marlene said matter-of-factly, no longer pretending to sleep. Lily growled bad-temperedly.

"I am _not._ They're always plotting something – and half of their little schemes are for the demise of Mrs. Norris! You don't know the half of it… the number of times I've rescued her from suits of armor or man-eating pot plants…" Lily drew a ragged breath, pausing in her ranting. She shook her head darkly. "Mark my words, if I weren't around, this school would be demolished within days. Those four are _evil. _Evil, I say!" Lily insisted.

"_Obsessed_," Mary sang under her breath. Lily ignored her and began changing into her pyjamas in an attempt to retain _some _dignity.

Of all the ventures Lily had attempted, it was perhaps the most unsuccessful.

* * *

Lily woke up early the next morning, utterly determined that Gryffindor would at least win _some_ points back. She leapt from her bed, yanked a brush though her hair, and pulled on her school robes, whistling all the while.

"Wake up!" she shouted cheerily. Mary and Marlene were quite decidedlynot as pleased. Lily ducked several thrown books and some of Marlene's Quidditch magazines as they groaned unhappily. "Come on," Lily pleaded as Marlene swung her fists wildly in her direction. Lily dodged her with ease. Mary moaned and rolled to face Lily, opening one eye and glaring at her.

"I will kill you," she threatened. The effect was slightly ruined by her drowsy voice and messy hair. "I will kill you painfully and raise you just so I can kill you again. I _hate_ mornings. And you."

"My, aren't you happy," Lily said, piling approximately a dozen books in her bag. She glanced over at the other two, who showed no signs of moving. "Come on! Black will eat all the food if you don't!" she threatened. This threat motivated Marlene, who stood hastily, yawning as she yanked her robes over her head. She was halfway out the door before sense and reason dawned on her. She squinted at Lily, who was grinning at her success in awakening her. Mary snored loudly.

"Liar," she mumbled, though she made no move to go back to bed. "Even _that_ prat can't eat all the food…" she considered it for a moment. "Although maybe he can."

She kicked Mary. "Oi. Food."

These two words were enough for Mary, who scrambled to her feet, looking around eagerly. "Where?" she demanded, still mostly asleep. This, combined with her wild hair, was too much for Lily. She doubled over, laughing heartily. Mary stared at her oddly, then flopped back and continued to snore. Lily laughed until her stomach hurt, Marlene reluctantly joining her.

Several minutes later, all three girls had stumbled from their room into the Great Hall. When she entered, all three of them automatically looked up at the ceiling. It was gunmetal grey, and looked as though it might rain at any moment. Lily wrinkled her nose.

"Yuck."

Mary and Marlene nodded in agreement, the latter looking wistfully at the Quidditch pitch. She sighed gustily but followed the other two as they hurried towards the Gryffindors' table.

The three of them took seats, Mary and Marlene hurriedly pulling every dish they could reach towards them. As Lily ate, listening to Mary and Marlene debate heatedly over whether Chaser or Beater was better, a flash of black caught her eye. She turned to see James and his friends slouching into the Great Hall, all of them looking as surly as a group of trolls. She gave them a rather unfriendly look, though she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. None of them looked as though they had slept.

James collapsed into the seat beside her, not even seeming to realise it was her that he sat next to. Lily cringed in automatic anticipation of a poor pick-up line or a dramatic proclamation of love. He did neither. He was quietly talking to Sirius, and no matter how much Lily tried not to listen, she couldn't help but overhear them. It sounded as if they were in the middle of a heated argument.

"I'm telling you, Sirius," he hissed under his breath. "I really don't think that's a good idea – what? It's in two days!" he broke off when he noticed Lily. Sirius didn't even seem to notice.

"I'm telling _you_ that we shouldn't let old Snivelly ruin our plans!" Sirius snapped back. Neither one of them were going away, despite how much Lily wished they would argue somewhere else. As Sirius' voice rose and the argument grew even fiercer than before, she resisted the childish urge to cover her ears and sing loudly in a last ditch effort not to hear them. Before she grew desperate enough, Sirius caught James' pointed looks in her direction and closed his mouth, though the debate looked far from over.

Lily watched in amazement as they both crammed food in their mouths, rather astounded as to how someone could even eat that much - let alone in such a short time. Both of them stood after a moment. Sirius still had eggs dangling from his mouth and Lily resisted the immature urge to giggle. Before she could say a word or even tease Sirius, both of them were gone, moving so quickly she didn't even manage to open her mouth. She stared after them in disbelief, wondering when they got so bloody _fast._

She finished her meal as well and stood just as the ceiling let out a thunderous roar and rain began to fall, though all of the drops vanished before reaching the students. Mary let out a groan, as did Lily.

_There goes my nice day… _she thought dismally, following Marlene through the winding corridors and into the Transfiguration classroom. Professor McGonagall smiled as they entered the room. Lily looked about the classroom and was relieved to see she was not the only one looking rather apprehensive. Professor McGonagall never smiled.

The professor flicked her wand and the large cage on her desk opened with a clang. A dozen or so fat brown rats writhed and squeaked in fear as they floated through the air to land on the desks of every student. Mary recoiled with a little "Urgh!" of disgust as her rat rolled towards her, squealing as it went. To be honest, Lily couldn't blame her.

Professor McGonagall swept past the students to the front of the classroom. She flicked her wand once more and instructions began to appear on the blackboard. Lily squinted at them, struggling to read the miniscule words. Behind her, Sirius and James were still conversing in low voices. The soft hum of their talk distracted her, and after she copied down the wrong instruction three times in a row, she let out a little snarl.

"Is there a problem, Miss Evans?" Professor McGonagall asked. Lily smiled weakly and shook her head.

"No, Professor," she answered, though it wasn't entirely true. "No problem."

As the class went on and Lily struggled to nonverbally transform her rat into a tea cup, James and Sirius continued to whisper. The sound was about ready to drive her mad. After the fifth unsuccessful try to transform her rat, Lily was about ready to jam her wand in a rather private place for both of them. She gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate only on her rat, the incantation, and her wand.

"Mister Potter?" Professor McGonagall said expectantly, bearing down on him. Lily turned in her seat, unable to restrain a smirk.

_Hah,_ she thought in satisfaction as James turned around with a look of surprise. _The big-headed prat hasn't been paying attention at all. He'll never get this spell…_ her thoughts faded into shocked silence as James effortlessly waved his wand, transformed his rat, then waved it again and turned it back. Lily's mouth fell open with a little squeak. James smirked at her. Professor McGonagall looked approving.

"Excellent work, Mister Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor. It's wonderful to see that some people are listening," she said, looking satisfied. She abruptly whirled on Lily. "Miss Evans? Could you please demonstrate the spell as well?"

Startled and rather off-put, Lily waved her wand in a rather haphazard way. Several minutes later, after all the fires had been put out, the professor donned her still smoking hat, looking rather displeased at the havoc Lily had wrought.

"Well," she said dryly. "It appears not everyone is listening quite as well."

Lily lowered her head, cheeks burning in shame. It didn't help that she could hear Sirius sniggering behind her. Her fingers tightened on her wand for a moment.

"Perhaps," Professor McGonagall continued, though not unkindly. "You could do with a little practice. Please practice the spell until you_ don't _set your classmates on fire."

Professor McGonagall swept to the front of the room. Lily's cheeks were now burning in earnest. She could hear the rest of her classmates snickering at her misfortune. She could practically hear their thoughts.

_Oh yes,_ she thought unhappily as she laid her head on her arms and tried to concentrate on Professor McGonagall's lecture about nonverbal spells. _Goody-goody Lily needs to be knocked down a few pegs. Of course. _

"Hey Evans," James hissed. She raised her head to look at him questioningly. "It wasn't that bad of a try," he whispered to her. She felt the tiny burgeoning feeling of hope and a little smile crossed her features before he ruthlessly stomped any happiness she might have had. "Of course, that's if you're comparing yourself to – say, Amos Diggory."

Both he and Sirius immediately collapsed into unkind sniggers. Lily could feel her cheeks reddening. She knew perfectly well that Amos was perhaps the worst person to ever attempt Transfiguration.

"Sod off, Potter," she hissed back, turning around with an attempt at dignity. She could practically hear James pantomiming her when she eagerly raised her hand to answer a question. Lily thought she might die of shame when he leapt around in his seat, waving his arms around frantically. The rest of the class, with the sole exceptions of Mary and Marlene, dissolved into cruel giggles. Professor McGonagall, who had her back to the class, didn't notice.

By the time she escaped Transfiguration, she was practically in tears. Her face was red and she could feel the sting of bitter tears in her eyes. She attempted to swallow the lump in her throat as she hurried to History of Magic. James was in that class…but surely he wouldn't do anything else, right?

She couldn't have been more wrong.

As she eagerly scribbled down notes, she spotted James out of the corner of her eye. He was gesturing towards her and whispering to his friends in a way that she couldn't help but dread. It didn't help at all when he turned around, grinning in a rather sinister manner. She shivered slightly before returning her attention to the ghostly professor.

"The Warlocks' Convention of 1628," Lily called out in response to one of the rare questions. Professor Binns nodded absently.

"Very good, Miss Everett. Five points to…Gryffindor?" he said distantly before continuing on with his incredibly boring monologue. Lily rolled her eyes.

She was in the middle of writing a note stating the date of the Giant Wars when it hit her. Literally.

"Ow!"

The balled up bit of parchment fluttered to the ground and Lily rubbed the reddening mark on her hand. She looked over to see James grinning at her. She mouthed an extremely rude word at him, and in return, he flicked another bit of parchment at her. She made an obscene gesture she had learned from Vernon, Petunia's boyfriend, before returning to her notes.

"1289. The goblins were infuriated by a wizard stealing several hundred Galleons and a rare and priceless sword," Lily answered in response to another question.

"Another five points, Miss Eoin," Professor Binns said. Lily smiled and saw James stiffen out of the corner of her eye. She did have to wonder how the ghostly professor came up with these ridiculous names…

Sighing, she went to write down the date and the exact number of witches and wizards the marauding goblins had tarred and feathered – Lily had to wonder how anyone knew the exact number – then her quill promptly snapped, spraying ink everywhere, including her face and clothes.

The rest of the class snorted with laughter, which Binns didn't even seem to notice. Lily could have sworn she saw James' wand disappearing into his robes. Lily was frozen, feeling the ink slide down her face and stain her robes. She started to shake slightly and the room went blurry. Lily could feel tears welling up as Professor Binns continued to lecture about goblins.

The bell outside the classroom rang just as tears began to run down her face in earnest. Trying to hide her face from the rest of the class, she began to grab everything belonging to her in sight, hoping to make it to one of the girls' loos and clean herself up before anyone saw her tears. She hurried towards the door, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

She might have made it if it weren't for Sirius.

Grinning stupidly, he pointed his wand at her bag and whispered a spell. She heard the soft words and was just about to turn around when her bag split, the ripping sound echoing around the classroom. All her books, papers, quills, and inkbottles clattered to the floor. She bit her lip and scrambled for the papers, keeping her head bowed.

Sirius snickered and kicked one of her books to James, who bent over to pick it up. She recognised it the moment she looked up to see it in his hands. The pale blue cover, the picture of a lily on the cover, the silver lock - her diary.

Heart lodging itself in the approximate area of her throat, she scrambled to her feet and held out an unsteady and shaking hand towards James.

"Give that back," she said, and she was proud that her voice didn't shake at all. James pretended to consider it, then a pleasant smile spread over his face. It looked quite kind, and Lily relaxed. He would give it back – of course he would. He could be a jerk at times, but he would never-

"No."

"W-what?" she gasped. James grinned kindly at her, looking relaxed. Sirius stood slightly behind him, big stupid grin all over his face – Lily felt the abrupt urge to punch the smirk off his face.

"Come on, Evans. It's not like I'm speaking in a different language – though Miss Brilliant would probably understand it anyhow," he said, and there was a nasty tone in his voice now. He began to open it teasingly. "Ooh, let's see what Ev- Ow!" he yelped. The diary's silver lock glowed green for a moment, then returned to normal.

Seeing her chance, Lily ran forward, kicked him in the shin, grabbed the diary, and pushed him over when he was off balance. Tears now falling in earnest, she fled, loud sobs echoing in the corridor behind her.

* * *

James watched her go, keeping up the broad grin for the others. Inwardly, he felt bad – he didn't expect her to take it quite so badly…

He sat up, rubbing his shins. Sirius offered him his hand, smirking and shaking his head in faux-wisdom.

"It must be a certain time of the month," he said, pulling James to his feet. There was the sound of rushing feet and James turned to see Mary, who looked positively enraged.

"What did you say to her?" she snarled, looking so angry both James and Sirius instinctively backed up a step. Her wand was in her hand and jammed in his throat before James could do anything else. "What did you say?" she shrieked. James swallowed, feeling her wand bob against his throat.

"Ah…now, MacDonald, we can talk this out…" he said awkwardly. She shoved it further in to his throat.

"The hell we can!" she shouted. "I don't care if you feel upset or embarrassed that you cost Gryffindor the House Cup – don't you _DARE _take it out on Lily!"

Shocked, James could only manage incoherent spluttering. With a final vengeful glare and a stab of her wand, Mary hurried off after Lily. Feeling rather discomfited and embarrassed, but glad it was over, James turned around with a sigh of relief.

_No more mad girls, at least…_

These happy thoughts skidded to a halt and James fancied he could hear them crash and burn as he came face-to-face with a very angry Marlene McKinnon.

"M-McKinnon," he stammered, attempting to take a step back. She took a step forward; deadly glare burning a hole in him. "Y-you don't have to do this! We could talk?" he offered uncertainly. He reflected that the last thing he would ever hear was the snickers from his friends as she took one more step forward.

"Please?" he squeaked, voice embarrassingly high. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Marlene's fist.

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_**Author's Notes: A bit longer than average, but I really wanted to write, for some reason. I have nothing witty or interesting to say besides thanks for reviewing and reading.**_


	16. Bully

_**Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews so far! As I haven't done this in some time, the Harry Potter series and most of the characters in this fanfiction belong to a far more talented lady than I – J.K. Rowling.**_

_**Thanks for reading, and I would love reviews!**_

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Marlene left James lying on the floor, unconscious and with a bloody nose, and found Lily in the girls' dormitory, hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing miserably.

"Oh Lily," she said softly, stepping over a small blue book that had been tossed carelessly on the floor and sitting next to Lily. She crushed her to her side, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl. Lily leaned on her, sniffling loudly.

"I hate him," she wailed, rubbing her eyes miserably. Marlene nodded sympathetically.

"I know. He's ghastly," she said, patting Lily on the back. Tears rolled down her face, reddening her eyes and nose. Marlene dug in her bag for a moment, then withdrew a slightly grimy handkerchief. She muttered a spell and some of the grease disappeared. Feeling rather satisfied, she handed it to Lily, who scrubbed at her face furiously.

"He's such a g-git," Lily hiccoughed, rubbing her eyes with the handkerchief. She handed it back with a muttered thanks. Marlene tucked it back in her bag and sighed.

"I could punch him again," Marlene offered. Lily turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"You punched him?" she asked, red-rimmed eyes wide. Marlene gave her a cocky grin and nodded. Lily gave a weak and rather watery smile that quickly turned into a laugh. "You _punched_ James Potter," she giggled hysterically. Marlene smirked.

"And knocked him out as well," she said, sounding satisfied even to her own ears. Lily doubled over, shaking with silent laughter. Marlene grinned. "That's better," she said. After a moment, she stood and offered a hand to Lily. "Now, are you ready to get back to class and kick James Potter's pansy arse?" she asked.

Lily accepted the hand with a watery grin.

"You bet," she promised, and something in her eyes made Marlene almost feel sorry for James.

* * *

James watched in surprise as Lily slipped into the Divination classroom with ease, looking perfectly poised and not at all like she had been crying.

"Miss Evans," Professor Cassandra said in tones of dulcet surprise. She swept over to Lily, overly teased hair swaying as she went. "You are late!" Her voice implied that this was almost unthinkable.

"I'm really sorry, professor," Lily said, utterly composed. She offered a sweet smile that would have stronger people than Professor Cassandra fooled. "There were a lot of people in the corridors and I couldn't get to class. I promise I'll work extra hard!"

"Oh… well…" the flustered professor said. She smiled back at Lily and pointed at one of the ugly purple armchairs. "Take a seat, my dear…"

Lily smiled gratefully at the professor. "Thank you," she said sweetly. James watched in astonishment as she glided to the armchair beside him and sat down, then looked attentively at the professor. But before she did, he could have sworn he saw a malicious smile hovering on the corners of her lips. He dismissed it a moment later. Evans was too kind, surely. He wasn't even sure if she could be cruel at all.

He rolled up a bit of parchment again and flicked it at her as Professor Cassandra awarded her ten points for answering a question, but he could have attacked a brick wall for all the reaction he got. She continued to smile in a pleasant fashion, though he thought he might have seen a flicker of anger in her eyes. He dismissed the thought. She looked perfectly composed and happy.

"Pass me the crystal ball, Potter," she said cheerily. James, feeling surprisingly awkward at her sweet tone, picked it up and frowned in surprise at its weight. "Oh, surely it isn't too heavy for the manly Quidditch-playing James Potter!" she said, looking astonished. He scowled, but straightened in his seat and passed it towards her.

"Oops," she said – rather childishly, in his opinion – as he handed it to her. The weight of the crystal ball seemed to prove too much for her, and she dropped it. Right on his foot.

"Ow!" he howled, clutching at his foot and falling out of his chair. His face hit the ground and he thought he heard an unpleasant crunch coming from his nose.

"Oh dear," Professor Cassandra said, floating towards him. "Perhaps the powerful clairvoyant aura coming from me proved too much…" she said regretfully, watching him roll around on the ground.

"Oh, don't worry, Professor," Lily chirped, and James would have been extremely suspicious if he hadn't been in so much pain. "James is very susceptible to your powers! In fact, sometimes I think he has a crush on you!" she laughed that infuriating, tinkling little giggle that wasn't at all like Lily. Professor Cassandra chuckled as well.

James would have been furious if it weren't for the fact that Lily had accidently dropped a full ink bottle on his head. He let out a protesting wail as ink splattered his face and hair.

_Not my gorgeous hair! _He thought in dismay.

"Oops! I'm so clumsy today!" Lily laughed, bending over him in the guise of trying to help clean him off. "Don't mess with me today, Potter," she hissed in his ear. He yelped in protest. She patted his cheek mockingly. "I don't think James is feeling all that well…perhaps I should take him to the Hospital Wing," she said.

"Oh…of course," Professor Cassandra floundered, completely out of her league. Lily helped James to his feet, eyes sparkling merrily. Half blind, ink dripping from his hair and face, James managed to blunder out of the classroom. The second they were out of sight of the rest of the students, Lily instantly dropped the happy act.

"Come on, Potter," she said, pulling him along. He flailed behind her but she ignored him. "Idiot," he thought she muttered under her breath. She yanked him along, but as he couldn't see anything but occasional flashes of colour, he was utterly lost. She pulled him into what he thought might have been a large room. He could hear the echoing sound of dripping water coming from all around him. He blundered around confusedly, only to bounce off something at waist-height. He yelped in pain and Lily snickered.

"What?" he said confusedly. Lily just ignored him. He could hear her footsteps echoing off what sounded like tiles and the sound of water running. The ink was beginning to burn painfully at his eyes. He let out a growl of pain and rubbed furiously at his eyes, though it only made it worse. The ink burned agonizingly. He heard Lily approaching him, but the pain was far too overwhelmingly distracting for him to notice much else.

"Hold still, Potter," Lily said irritably. Unable to do anything else, he complied, though he was half expecting her to hit him again. Instead, she pressed a blissfully cool rag to his face. He jerked in surprise, but remained still as she carefully wiped the ink from his eyes. He stood stock-still as water dripped down his face and she brushed the rag across his eyes with a feather-light touch. "It's gone," she said after a moment.

He tentatively pried his eyes open, blinking at the light. Lily's figure swam into view in front of him, slightly blurry, but otherwise normal.

"It's gone!" he said in surprise. He grinned at Lily. "You'd make a great , Lily," he said enthusiastically. He thought he might have seen her blush slightly before she looked away. He blinked. Perhaps it was the ink. He smiled at her, then for the first time glanced around at his surroundings. What he saw made him splutter in horrified shock.

"Th-this is a _girls' toilet_," he said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Potter, for that stunning revelation," she said. Too shocked to reply, James backed up, mouth opening and closing silently. "It's fine," she said, watching him stare around in bewilderment. "No one ever comes in here…not when _she's _in here."

"W-who's _she_?" James stammered, still backing up in hopes of encountering a door through which to escape. Before Lily could do anything but open her mouth to respond, a sullen, sniffling voice answered the question for him.

"You're talking about me, aren't you?"

James turned around to see a silvery girl floating above one of the toilets, idly scratching at her chin as she eyed the two suspiciously.

Lily's eyes widened in alarm. "No, Myrtle, we wouldn't dream about doing anything like that."

"Yes you are," howled the ghost, hovering even higher. "Everyone makes fun of fat, ugly, Moaning Myrtle!" she shrieked. "No one was kind in life, and death is even worse!" Myrtle dived into her toilet with a wail.

"Run, James!" Lily said hastily, seizing his sleeve and yanking him along as she ran for the door. Behind him, James could hear the screams of Myrtle and a massive splashing noise as water splattered the room. The two didn't stop until they had reached a moth-eaten tapestry of a man being clubbed by trolls. One of the trolls took a moment to peer at them, snuffling through its misshapen nose as it stared at them curiously. It shrugged, then returning to clubbing the poor man.

Lily was bent over, panting for breath, as was James. Her hand was still gripping his sleeve but she didn't seem to realise it. The two clutched at each other as they gasped for breath.

"It's about time," said a stately silvered ghost drifting past. He winked at them, then floated through a wall. James and Lily looked at each other, then realised that their mussed hair, wrinkled clothes, and unsteady breathing could be construed as something else entirely. Lily seemed to notice it at the same time as he did. She blanched and flung herself away from him.

"It's not like that!" she shouted after the ghost, but she could have screamed at a wall for all the good it did. "It's _not!_"

"It could be," James said with a suggestive grin, sliding closer to her. Somewhere, a tiny voice inside his head reminded him that he was supposed to treat her like any other person. He squashed the voice ruthlessly. Lily scooted away from him.

"Oh, you are just disgusting," she said. "I don't know why I even helped you."

James thought about it for a minute. "Because you couldn't resist my handsome face?" he suggested. She wrinkled her nose.

"I'm certain that's not it," she said dryly, standing and brushing off her robes. "It may be that _I'm_ not used to being cruel and bullying."

James frowned. Apart from old Snivellous, who did he bully? He couldn't think of anyone at the moment. "What are you talking about?" he asked. He thought she might explode for a minute. Her face went red, her hands began to shake, and her eyes narrowed into furious slits.

"What am I talking about?" she shouted, throwing out her arms. One hand hit him in the chest, but he didn't even flinch, too shocked by her sudden fury. "You foul, disgusting git!" she screeched. "You tortured me for years! In my first-year, you tried out a spell you and your friends had come up with on me! I was in the Hospital Wing for _weeks!"_

James frowned again. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about.

"The end of first year, you pranked me and Severus in front of _everyone_! The very first day of second-year, you exploded my food in my face!" she snarled. It seemed as if she had wanted to say this for a long time. James leaned away from her, the explosive fury rolling off her in waves. "During second-year, you pranked me and my friends more times than I can even remember!"

"I don't even remember this!" James shouted back. She rolled her eyes.

"What bully remembers his victims?" she demanded.

"Oh yeah?" he said angrily. "Then what about third year? I never tormented you at all that year."

"Oh yes," Lily said with awful sarcasm. "You know why that is?"

"Why?" James demanded. They were facing each other, both brilliantly red in the face. Lily's hair was beginning to come out of its elegant bun and strands hung around her scarlet face.

"Because, Potter," she said viciously. "I grew up. I had a figure. You realised I was female."

James' mouth fell open. "That's not it," he protested. "I noticed your unearthly beauty!"

Lily snorted, looking quite demented. "Oh, right. Then why didn't you notice it doing my first few years?"

"I was blind!" he said. She glared at him angrily and shook her head.

"No, you were a foul-"

"Are you just going to scream at each other all day?" a rather insolent voice asked. Both James and Lily turned to see a portrait of a rather plump man eyeing them nastily while picking his teeth with a bone. He stared at them, his pale and rather unpleasantly rat-like face annoyed. "Really," he continued on when neither of them showed signs of leaving him alone. "Your idiotic argument has no business-"

"Shut up!" both Lily and James snapped. James grinned as he turned back to face Lily, and he thought he might have seen the smallest of smiles as she turned away from him.

"Well, I suppose we do have to get back to class," she said finally, turning around and heading for the Divination classroom. A second later and James fell into step beside her. They walked in silence for a moment, James glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, taking in her stony face and cold demeanor.

James stopped suddenly, scuffing his trainers at a small crack on the floor. Outside the window beside him, a bird screeched. Lily turned back to look at him curiously, eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean bullying…tormenting you?" James asked in a low voice. For a moment, Lily didn't speak. She sighed and closed her eyes, then opened then and looked out the window. The sun glistened off the icy lake, a chill wind whipping the water into a foam-coated frenzy. She watched a bluebird flutter past, her eyes distant. James was just starting to shuffle awkwardly when she spoke.

"You…really were awful," she began hesitantly, tracing the bird's path with her eyes. James shuffled his feet. "You loathed Severus from the start, and me just because I was friends with him. You really loved it when I got angry and tried to attack you…Sirius and Peter almost always could stop me before I got to you, so you just thought it was one great amusement…Really _funny_…" she said bitterly. James flushed miserably, but didn't allow himself to look anywhere but her emerald green eyes. She stared out the window moodily.

"Sorry," he muttered, but she either didn't hear him or just ignored him.

"Actually, I think you started attacking me when you had spent weeks planning a prank for Severus and I accidently got in the way and ruined it…You were furious, I remember. You wouldn't help me. I was trapped for hours…" she stopped for a minute and watched the lake moodily. James waited patiently for her to speak, cheeks burning with shame.

"I really can't believe you don't even remember…" she muttered to herself, but James' keen ears picked it up. She shook her head impatiently and turned around, continuing to walk. James caught up after a moment, absorbed in his thoughts. Lily stared straight ahead, head raised proudly, though he thought he might have seen some hurt in her eyes. It was several minutes before he spoke.

"Lily…I'm really truly sorry. I can't believe I don't remember either… I was really-"his words caught in his throat and he choked. She watched curiously. He swallowed impatiently. "I was really immature and…cruel and-"

"Arrogant," Lily added helpfully, a tiny smile pulling up the corners of her lips. James nodded fervently.

"And arrogant," he agreed. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I just wanted to say," he said, looking away. "That even though I can't take it back, I'm sorry, and I promise I won't act like that to you again."

Lily's eyes were wide with shock, and for a moment, she looked like she wanted to hug him. James wasn't sure he wanted her to or not. She settled for a magnificent smile. James's thoughts muddled at the gleaming smile and he grinned back exultantly. She gazed back, and for a moment, he was sure she too was remembering a moment quite similar. His thoughts drifted back to a snowy day… Lily blushed and looked away.

"Well, let's get back to class," she said, pulling herself together again. James grinned happily at her.

"Sure," he agreed, offering her a gallant hand. She looked hesitant, but took it. "Let's go," he said cheerfully. She smiled slightly and together, hand in hand, they walked back to class.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Sorry it was late, but my computer kept shutting down when I tried to write it and it erased more than half several times, plus I had a lot of issues when I tried to upload it…It took three whole days just to manage to get it uploaded! But thank you to everyone who reviewed or even just read it!**_


	17. Payback

Author's Notes: Hey, everyone. To answer Super Cara's question, they are currently in sixth-year. Thank you so much for the reviews, and I'm really sorry to anyone who didn't like it.

_**Thank you for reading!**_

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The makeshift truce did not last very long. Thirty minutes later, Lily once again exited the Divination classroom, fuming furiously and keeping up a steady tirade of insults at James. Marlene, who walked by her side, nodded dutifully every so often.

"He's the most idiotic, ridiculous piece of hypocritical trash!" Lily snarled. "He lies as easily as he breathes!"

"Yes, Lily," Marlene muttered under her breath as Lily paused in her rant for breath. "James is just the epitome of evil. I'm sure he kicks puppies and eats kittens for breakfast."

Lily, who was far too furious to really listen, did not hear her. "And he kept whispering to his idiotic friends while Professor Cassandra tried to talk and he threw that firecracker into Sev's teacup…and, and…" Lily drew a rattling breath, eyes flashing her indignation. "And he kept _grinning_ over at me!"

"And we all know grinning is a sign of evil," Marlene drawled. Lily ignored her. Mary, who had never been interested in Divination, caught up to them.

"Hey!" Mary said cheerfully, running to keep up with Lily. She caught sight of her thunderous face and winced. "What's wrong?" she asked tentatively.

"Everything!" Lily exploded at her, flapping her arms in a manic way. Mary and Marlene watched in amused disbelief as Lily actually stomped her foot. "That – that bloody _git_, James Potter, is awful!"

"What did he do?" Mary asked.

"Grinned at her," Marlene offered. Mary ignored her. Before Marlene could even blink, Mary was leading Lily off, comfortingly patting her arm and looking far more matronly than Marlene could ever be. The tall brunette caught up to them in a moment.

"Where are you going?" Marlene demanded. Mary shot her a look of cool disdain.

"To the girls' dormitory, of course!" she announced as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Lily needs time to cool down."

"I do not-"Lily began, but Mary cut her off.

"Yes, you do," she said stubbornly, pulling her off. Torn between laughing and disbelief, Marlene stood in the middle of the Entrance Hall, watching as Mary led Lily off, reassuringly talking to her. Lily was looking calmer, nodding her head as she listened to Mary.

"Where's Evans off to?" a voice asked from behind her. Marlene didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"She's being kidnapped because otherwise, she'll choke you to death," Marlene answered, turning around. James took a step back, hazel eyes widening behind his grimy glasses.

"Now McKinnon, there's no need-"

"I'm not going to punch you again," Marlene interrupted, shoving past him to the Great Hall. "Though you do deserve it…" she muttered. Before Marlene could take the final step into the Great Hall for her well-deserved lunch, James caught her arm. She yanked it away angrily and turned to stare at him.

"Ah…I wouldn't go in there if I were you, McKinnon," James said, looking oddly anxious. A cold feeling seemed to pool in Marlene's stomach.

"You _didn't_," she hissed, trying to poke her head in the door. James pulled her back quickly. "Don't touch me, Potter," she snapped. "And stop pretending to be concerned for me."

"I'm not pretending," James snapped back.

"No, you're just concerned that if I get horribly mauled or something, it will ruin your chances with Lily," Marlene said triumphantly, noticing the flicker in his hazel eyes. He recovered quickly though, the spark returning to his eyes almost instantly.

"I just think it would be better for your blood pressure and clothes to stay out here," James said. Marlene frowned, hearing shrieks start from the Great Hall.

"What have you done?" she snarled. "You're lucky Lily isn't here."

She shoved James out of the way, too incensed to care when he stumbled back, heading hitting the wall with a crack. He recovered after a second, shaking his head dazedly. Marlene was gone when his vision cleared.

He said something that in all likelihood would have made Lily slap him, then sighed and hurtled into the Great Hall after her.

* * *

Marlene halted just a few steps into the Great Hall, mouth hanging open comically at the sight before her. James caught up to her, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her back, but Marlene was too busy gazing in horror at the rest of the Great Hall.

People were screaming and ducking as their food came to life, hurtling itself at the hapless students. A massive roast beef flew after a shrieking Slytherin girl as she ran across the Great Hall, only to send a boy flying when it collided with his head. A large Yorkshire pudding seemed to notice Marlene, and flew at her, followed by a veritable army of pumpkin juice beakers.

"Come on, Marlene! Run!" James said frantically as Marlene stared at them in shock. The next moment, he was gone. Feeling dazed, Marlene turned to see him lying on the floor, a beaker of pumpkin juice lying splattered beside him. His eyes were closed and he looked unconscious.

Marlene fell to her knees beside him, ducking a glass of juice and shaking his shoulders frantically. "Wake up, James, wake up! You have to reverse the spell!"

His head lolled limply from side to side. He was completely unconscious. Marlene swore and dropped him, diving out of the way as the pudding made a charge at her. She fell badly, skidding across the food-coated floor, gasping at the pain in her shoulder. A glass of pumpkin juice fell to the ground beside her and shattered. Marlene ducked, covering her eyes to shield from glass, but miraculously none of it touched her.

She skittered across the floor, crawling on all fours as a boy ran past her, screaming. A plate of bacon flew at her with a sinister shriek. Desperate, Marlene looked up to the Head table in the hopes of help. Professor McGonagall was shouting and immobilizing all the food she could reach, Flitwick was hiding under the table, absolutely covered in food, and Professor Dumbledore was watching merrily, food bouncing off a Shield charm surrounding him. He stood and shook back the sleeves of his magnificent purple robe, then preformed a complicated maneuver with his wand.

At once, every single bit of airborne food shivered mid-air, then dropped to the floor. Another wave of the wand and it settled slowly down onto the tables. Students poked their heads tentatively from under the tables, where most of them had taken shelter. Marlene raked a potato covered hand through her hair, then stood and hurried to James, who was feebly stirring. Against her better judgment, she knelt by his side, raising an eyebrow at him.

His hazel eyes opened slowly, focusing dimly on her. She stared down at him oppressively, her own dark eyes narrowed.

"So," she said finally.

"So," James echoed feebly, wondering if it would hurt much when she punched him again. He cringed, half closing his eyes. Through the narrowed slits of his eyes, he saw Marlene's face break into a grin. She offered him a hand and he tentatively accepted it. She pulled him roughly to his feet.

"That was a good one," she said, clapping him on the back. James' eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" he said. "You mean you're not going to punch me again?"

"James, get over that already!" Marlene snapped. "I punched you because you were being a complete prat to Lily! Also, Lily's going to skin you alive."

James' eyes widened once again. "P-perhaps I should be going…" he said. Marlene smirked.

"That would be a good idea. Oh, and James?" she called to him. He swung back around, raising an eyebrow.

"What, McKinnon?" he asked, grinning at her. She smiled back, looking far too innocent.

"I suppose your prank was fairly nice," Marlene said, picking at her nails. "But you've been such a jerk to Lily today…" she said with a feral grin, trailing off suggestively.

James took one look at her face, then shot off, shouting to Sirius for help. He could hear Sirius laughing behind him as Marlene sprinted after him, just a step behind him as she brandished her wand threateningly.

* * *

Lily rolled over on her bed, not even caring that she was covered in food.

"I am going to kill him. I swear, I am going to _kill_ him," Lily said. A bit of potatoes dripped dismally into her eyes. She didn't even bother to move. Mary sighed gustily, then preformed a Cleaning charm. Most of the food vanished. "Thanks," Lily mumbled, still unmoving and staring blankly at the ceiling. "Five hours to clean it up, even with magic. Five – effing – hours. I will kill him."

Marlene rolled her eyes. Lily had been chanting this for the last twenty minutes while staring at the ceiling, in which she had carved the words 'James Potter is an idiot' in fiery script. Lily sat up, glaring at the two of them.

"I'm going to go murder James horrifically," Lily said, bending over to peer under her bed. "Anyone want to help me?"

"What have you got in mind?" Marlene asked interestedly, dropping her Quidditch magazine. Lily got onto her hands and knees to wriggle under her bed. "And what are you _doing?_ Has your hate for James finally corroded your brain?"

"Ha ha," Lily replied sarcastically. Marlene stared down at her feet, which was all that stuck out from under the bed. "I know they're here somewhere," she mumbled. "Ah ha!"

Lily emerged from under the bed, spitting dust from her mouth. "Yuck," she said, wiping grimy hands on her robes.

"What in the name of Merlin's most wrinkled socks are you doing?" Marlene asked, lolling on her bed and watching in a rather entertained way.

"You have such a filthy mouth," Lily said idly. She tossed an ancient pack of Berty Bott's Every Flavour Beans at Marlene.

"Thanks," Marlene said enthusiastically, ripping the pack open and pouring half the bag in her mouth. A second later she choked and ran for the bin. Lily rolled her eyes, but ignored her. Turning to Mary, she smiled broadly.

"Look!" Lily said in extreme excitement, holding out her great find – a very old pack of Dungbombs. Mary squinted at it, then raised her eyebrow skeptically, ignoring the retching sounds from Marlene.

"Dungbombs? What are you going to do with _Dungbombs? _And what business, exactly, does Miss Prefect have with Dungbombs anyhow?"

Lily smiled a truly evil grin and beckoned the two closer. Intrigued against their will, Mary and a very pale Marlene approached.

"This is what we'll do…" Lily said.

* * *

Lily, Mary, and Marlene stole up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and crowded around, listening at the door. The sound of ratcheting snores echoed around the room beyond. Lily winced, and very carefully opened the door, slipping inside. Mary and Marlene followed her, both of them grinning broadly.

Lily nearly retched as the sheer smell of the room hit her. It smelled as if they had been experimenting with something foul – and when she spotted a potion-filled cauldron in the corner, she realised she wasn't too far off. Holding a hand over her nose and mouth, she beckoned to Mary and Marlene. The two girls approached her, grinning.

"You take Sirius," Lily mouthed at Mary, who saluted her mockingly. "You get Peter and Remus…go easy on them, though. I think James was the mastermind of this one," Lily whispered to Marlene. "I'll take James."

Both girls giggled slightly, then hurried off to their respective charges. Lily approached James, who was easily identifiable by the soft moonlight shining in from the window and gleaming on his messy hair. She knelt by his side and pulled out her wand, touching the tip to his arm. She could hear Mary and Marlene whispering Sleeping Spells and she opened her mouth to do the same.

But at the touch of her wand, James grunted and rolled over toward her. She gasped slightly and started to back up, but alerted by the noise, James reached out a large hand and groped around blearily. She squeaked very slightly as he grabbed her, then pulled her close with a snore. She was pressed to his side firmly, large arms giving to chance of escape. He nuzzled his face in her hair and continued to snore loudly in her ear. Lily thought she might go deaf if she didn't have a heart attack first.

"Lily," he mumbled into her hair, smiling as he rubbed his face in her hair. "Why are you so fuzzy, Lily…? A beard…?"

Lily couldn't help but be offended, but now was not the time.

'Help me,' she frantically mouthed at Mary and Marlene, who were approaching her while smirking.

"Aww…" Marlene whispered back. "How _cute_."

"Help!" she said in a sibilant whisper. James snorted and tightened his arm around her. She squeaked again. Mary and Marlene both looked to be restraining giggles, but Mary quickly tapped James and whispered a spell. His snores immediately stopped and his arm went limp, dropping Lily. She hit the floor with a thump and stood up, mouthing obscenities at James.

"Stupid prat," she muttered. "A _beard_?"

Marlene stifled a snigger.

"Oh shut it, you," Lily said with a poor attempt at regaining her dignity. She stood and smoothed down her robes, looking disgusted. "Now, get to work, girls! Stop skiving off!"

Mary and Marlene glanced at each other, then as one mockingly saluted her. Marlene hurried toward where Remus lay in the one clean bed in the room, pulling out her wand as she went. Mary winked conspiratorially at Lily, then hurried towards Sirius, grinning in a rather menacing fashion. Lily smiled as well, then turned back to James.

His mouth hung open slightly, and his eyes were darting under their lids. Lily knew from personal experience that he was currently having extremely pleasant and colourful dreams – she couldn't help but envy the peaceful serenity on his face. She realised suddenly that Marlene was nearly done and she had been gaping at James for several minutes. She shook herself slightly, then knelt by him once again.

"Who in their right mind sleeps in robes with teddy bears on them?" Lily asked to the room at large. Neither girl answered her; both were far too busy transfiguring the boys' clothes. Lily sighed and tapped her wand on James' arm, thinking for something suitably embarrassing. She suddenly grinned.

Ten minutes later, Lily, Marlene, and Mary stood back, admiring their work with massive smiles. Sirius' robes had been transformed large pink bunny suit, the soft ears tickling his face. On his feet were fluffy bunny slippers. Peter and Remus, as per Lily's orders, had not been too badly transfigured. Both of them wore fluffy pyjamas that were decorated with large red hearts and cherubs. Lily almost giggled at the sight of them.

Of all the boys, James was by far the worst. His robes had been transformed into a girl's brilliantly pink petticoats. The collar of his dress was rimmed with fur that matched his petticoat, and his hair had been done up in frilly pink bows. He had on approximately ten pounds of makeup, clumsily applied by Lily. His shoes were made for a girl many sizes too small for him, and were so covered with bows and frills that the shoes were barely visible. His fingernails and toenails were painted a pleasant shade that Mary called 'seashell' and Lily called an ugly beige. A pair of immense crystalline earrings swung from his ears and a large necklace studded with ugly fake gems had been put around his neck. The finishing touch by Marlene was a sparkling pink tiara that had was emblazoned with a unicorn formed out of gaudy rubies. Lily couldn't even look at him without bursting into laughter.

Lily grinned at her friends.

"You are the best friends ever," she said. Mary and Marlene smiled.

"We know," they said in unison.

"Well, let's put on the last charm, make sure the Dungbombs are working, then wait till morning," Lily said softly, aware that Sirius' snores were beginning to come back. "The charm's starting to wear off," she hissed. "Hurry."

In unison, all three girls raised their arms and spoke as one, their words too soft for anyone but themselves to hear. There was a faint glow around all the boys, the air shimmered as if the very air was boiling, the castle seemed to be unbalanced for all of the girls, then all was still. Mary stumbled into Marlene, who clutched at Lily for support. Lily, who was swaying at the sudden wave of lightheadedness, toppled. There was a resounding crash as all three girls fell backwards and collided with a small bookshelf that belonged to Remus.

A rain of books fell on all three of them, and out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Marlene topple as a book smashed into the top of her head. Mary was yelping in pain as a succession of books hit her arms as she shielded her head. Then everything was silent.

Lily raised her head slowly, tentatively, as if expecting the books to launch themselves at her. When they didn't, she stood, painfully aware of several new bruises. James was groaning slightly, and she froze. When he didn't wake up, she turned to her friends. Marlene was lying unconscious on the floor, breathing shallow and her eyes closed. A small bloody wound was evident on the top of her head, and a green-bound book lay beside her, the corner stained with red.

"Oh Merlin," squealed Mary, crawling to Marlene's side, wincing as sharp edges of books cut into her hands and knees.

"It's okay," Lily assured Mary, tapping Marlene with her wand. The girl floated up slowly to eyelevel, then began to drift out the door. "I can heal her. Follow her," Lily whispered. "I'll clean up."

Mary nodded silently and hurried after Marlene's still body. Lily turned her attention to the mess in the room. She waved her wand in a single, fluid motion. All of the books shivered, then leapt back onto the bookshelf, which had already flown back into place. Lily smiled in satisfaction and couldn't help but clean up a stain on the carpet that looked horribly like blood. She wrinkled her nose at the rest of the room. It looked almost exactly like Mary's side of the room – which, Lily supposed, was probably why she looked so at home in the room.

Lily hurried after the two girls, unable to restrain a smile.

_As if I forgave you that quickly,_ she thought as she exited the room, conveniently forgetting she had done just that. _Silly boy._

_

* * *

_

James woke up slowly, stretching contently with a smile. The sun shining on him felt luxuriantly pleasant, and he took time sitting up. His robes felt very odd, but he disregarded it, deciding that they felt stiff because he slept in them.

He stood up and crossed the room to kick Sirius, who happened to be the closest, awake.

"Oi. Get up," James said, lightly kicking him again for good measure. Sirius groaned and rolled over, grabbing James' foot and yanking. James fell with a yelp, crashing into the floor.

"Inspecting the carpet, are we?" Remus asked in a sleepy voice, turning at the sound to peer at them. Face still buried in the floor, James gave a rude gesture. Remus merely laughed. James rolled over with a scowl, only to find himself face-to-fuse with what looked like a mountain of Dungbombs. James frowned and sat up.

"Sirius? Did you put these here?"

His only reply was a snore.

Confused, James reached out to pick them up.

_BANG._

James reeled back, choking and coughing. A rancid brown smoke filled the room, completely obscuring the light. The other three boys awoke with confused shouts that rapidly turned to hacking coughs and gasps.

"Wha-"James managed to gasp out. The Dungbombs, which should have gone out by now, were multiplying with alarming speed and going off one after another.

"Run away!" Sirius wailed. "Retreat, retreat!"

James had no idea how Sirius could talk in the oppressive smoke and terrible smell. Covering their noses and mouths with their hands, the four boys stumbled through the room, bumping into each other. The only noises beyond the sound of the Dungbombs and occasional retching were the sound of each of them swearing furiously. Sirius gave a piteous yelp as he collided with a wall. Eyes watering furiously, James blundered around the room, groping frantically for an exit.

"Here!" James croaked as his fumbling hands found what felt like a doorknob. He managed to rip it open with a minimum of scrabbling. All four boys piled out the door. James' face was shoved into the wall several times, but finally all the boys managed to escape. They flung themselves down the stairs, landing in a pile. James managed to peer up at the stunned – he supposed it was from their magnificent entrance – students surrounding them. They gaped at the four boys, eyes huge with shock. A few people looked like they wanted to be sick.

"Are you a-amazed at our h-handsomeness?" Sirius managed to hack out between coughs. There was only silence.

James stood up and dusted off his robes, peering at the people questioningly. Surely they couldn't smell _that_ bad. Several people gasped when he stood.

"What's wrong?" he said. "Standing is really something that even children have mastered – I mean, I know I'm amazing, but _really,_ people."

A girl giggled. This seemed to open the floodgates and soon the entire common room was positively screaming with laughter, some even rolling on the floor and beating the ground with their fists. James looked around, feeling quite gratified. He struck a pose, which only seemed to amuse the people even more.

"Wow," he said to Sirius. "I didn't think it was that funny. Maybe I should drop out to become a comedian."

"Don't count on it, Potter," said a familiar voice. James turned to see Lily descending from the staircase, face firmly pointed the other way. She seemed to be restraining a smile, something that neither of her giggling friends were doing. Sirius joined James and Marlene choked with laughter. Mary giggled.

"Has everyone got in the way of a bad Cheering Charm?" James asked as Marlene collapsed onto a chair, no longer bothering to attempt to conceal her laughter. Mary kept breaking out in silent giggles and Lily didn't seem to want to look at him. "Please, Lily, tell me what's wrong with everyone."

"Are you sure you want me to do this, Potter?" she said, drawing her wand.

"Do _what?" _James asked, nonplussed. She looked to be in pain from restraining her laughter.

"This," she said, and waved her wand.

For a moment, it was as if nothing had happened. He had just opened his mouth to mock her spell casting ability when the air around him glowed and seemed to vibrate. He saw Lily stumble slightly and reached out to grab her, but she deftly leapt back.

"Oh Potter," she said, shaking her head. "Who knew you would be such a pretty girl?"

"What?" James asked. He turned to Sirius, ready to share one of their smirks and begin mocking Lily, but Sirius was frozen, eyes bulging with horror, mouth hanging open. He stayed that way for a second before collapsing with laughter, tears of amusement streaming from his eyes. Lily didn't even bother to conceal the look of disgust for him as he rolled around the floor, pointing incoherently at James.

Mary took pity on him. "Here, James," she said, pointing her wand at the ground and drawing it to eye-height. The air shimmered, then turned silvery, a mirror coalescing from thin air. James was met with the most horrifying sight of his life.

A young woman stared back at him, lipstick coated mouth open with shock. Her black hair was covered in ugly pink bows. It was in ringlets and hung nearly to her waist. Her fingernails were covered in an ugly beige colour and as he moved forward as if in a trance, massive crystal earrings chimed in her ears. With a feeling of dawning horror James understood – the girl in the mirror was him.

He opened his mouth and let out the loudest scream of his life.

Lily looked rather ashamed, but she was still giggling at the sight of him.

"You!" he said suddenly, turning on her suddenly. "You did this!"

"I only revealed what was already there," she said, shaking her head. "You were too blind to see."

"Ha ha ha," Sirius gasped, dragging himself up onto a chair, convulsing with laughter. "Y-you're a _girl! _Ha _ha_!"

Lily gave him a contemptuous look.

"Now, my lovely Princess James, meet your knight, Sir Sirius," she said, pointing her wand at Sirius. He had just opened his mouth in alarm when the air shimmered once again. Sirius appeared, pink bunny ears and all. Sirius squealed and darted in front of the mirror, knocking James off his high-heeled feet.

"NOO!" he screamed, falling to his knees in front of the mirror. His bunny slippers gave a dismal squeak as he collapsed onto his side, clutching his head dramatically. "I shall never recover! I will lay in abject tragedy and _waste away!"_ he declared. Two seconds later, he bounded to his feet and examined himself in the mirror. "This is cool!" he said enthusiastically.

James watched dully as Sirius leapt onto one of the chairs and began to dance. A crowd of clapping people converged around him as he did a particularly daring move and nearly fell off. Out of the corner of his eye, James spotted Peter attempting to quietly sneak back up to the dormitory. Remus had long since disappeared. Mary directed her wand at the escaping Peter and flicked it once.

The air shivered around him. He squealed loudly, alerting the students in the common room to his escape attempt. A moment later and he was dragged into the crowd. James heard one last despairing scream before the sound of laughing people overwhelmed it.

"Help me!" James said frantically, turning to Lily. She bit her lip, then sighed, waving her wand once more. James sighed in relief, holding out a hand for inspection… a very pink hand at that. He squeaked in horror. It was the only sound he could make.

"Oops," Lily said awkwardly. "I didn't exactly mean to do that…"

James whirled to face the mirror. He was pink, and not just in the face. His entire body was a radiant, sparkling shade of _pink._ James whimpered one last time, took another look at himself, then his eyes rolled up in his head.

"Catch him!" he felt rather than heard. He thought he might have saw Lily dive forward before the merciful blackness swooped forward to claim him.

The last thing he heard was the ringing laughter of the surrounding people. Then everything went dark.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: As always, I have nothing witty to say besides thank you very much for reading. Your reviews mean so much to me!**_


	18. Nightmares

_**Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, and to Essie, thank**_** you**_** for reading!**_

_**I would, as always, love reviews.**_

_**Thanks!**_

_**

* * *

**_

Lily sat by James' side in the Hospital Wing, watching his chest rise and fall slowly as he slept. His still brightly pink face was peaceful, and she found herself admiring the serenity of his features. His messy hair hung in his eyes and she brushed a strand away. James snorted slightly at the movement and rolled over, reaching toward her. She easily dodged his fumbling advances before he snorted once more and promptly fell off the bed.

There was a resounding crash and he shot to his feet, hand moving to his wand instantly. Lily raised her hands defensively.

"Hey, Lily!" he said enthusiastically, raking a hand through his hair. She sighed. He looked around him questioningly, seeming to realise he was no longer in his dormitory. "Where are we?" he asked. Lily blushed slightly.

"Hospital Wing," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Why?" he said curiously. She raised an eyebrow.

"You really don't remember?"

"Remember what?" he said. She groaned slightly.

"Look at yourself," she muttered. She silently picked up a small mirror and held it out to him. She watched his mouth fall open, then he let out a little squeak and collapsed on his bed.

"Sorry, James," Lily said miserably, watching him run his hands over his brightly coloured arms. Despite Madam Pomfrey's best efforts, he remained pink. A covert spell from Lily in attempt to fix it only made it worse. James was now covered in pastel speckles.

"Why are you apologizing?" James asked dazedly, staring at his leg, which had a particularly vibrant splotch of blue. "It was the Slytherins that did it, I'm positive."

Lily blinked in surprise. _He thinks the Slytherins did it? I can't let them take the blame…_

"I did it, James," Lily blurted out.

There was a short silence and Lily cringed, pressing herself into her chair.

She expected him to be shocked. She expected him to be furious. She most decidedly did _not_ expect him to stare at her as if she had grown wings, then burst out laughing. Lily went red.

"What are you laughing about?" she demanded. James actually reached over and patted her head, ruffling her hair condescendingly.

"Ha ha!" he gasped through tears of mirth. "Y-_you_, Lily Evans, pranking _me_. Ha _ha_!"

"You don't think I could do it?" Lily demanded. James grinned, more like smirked, she thought resentfully.

"Oh Lily," he said patronizingly, shaking his head and looking as though he were explaining something to a particularly dull child for the tenth time. "Lily, Lily, _Lily._ You wouldn't know a prank if it walked up to you, starkers, slapped you and then danced around you, singing 'I'm a prank'. Poor, silly Lily."

"Yes, I would!" she shouted, standing abruptly. Her chair clattered to the ground, the sound echoing in the nearly empty Hospital Wing. "How do you think _Slytherins _would be able to get into the common room? How do you think _Slytherins_ would get into your dormitory without someone spotting them? It was me, James, face it!"

"Ah, Lily," he said loftily. "It's really good of you to try to take the blame for Snivellous and his friends-"

"Don't call him that," Lily hissed. James carried on as if he hadn't heard her.

"-But really, I know you, and I know you could _never _pull that off," he said. He sniggered slightly. "Imagine, Lily Evans ruining her Prefect reputation! Hah! You could never do something like that, Lily."

Lily was aware she was shaking with fury and her vision seemed hazy and red. She reached for her wand, not knowing exactly what she was doing, but before she could manage to do anything she would regret, the Hospital doors burst open with a bang.

"Prongs!" Sirius shouted joyfully, bounding forward. Remus and Peter followed him at a more sedate and dignified speed.

"Oi, Padfoot!" James called at the sight of him. He caught sight of Peter and Remus following. "Moony, Wormtail, come on! We need to get the Slytherins back."

"It wasn't the Slytherins!" Lily said angrily, frustrated that he wouldn't see what was in front of his eyes. James snorted loudly.

"Like I said," he said, once again ruffling Lily's hair as if she were a wayward child. "Prefect Evans would never sully her perfect reputation."

Lily hissed something at him that made Sirius laugh and Peter catcall. Her hand was inches from her wand when the door to the Hospital Wing once again opened.

"Oh, there you are, Lily," Marlene said, hurrying toward her. "You look like a rainbow threw up on you," she added as an aside to James.

"Thank you," he said with a poor attempt at looking dignified. Marlene ignored him.

"Come on, lessons are starting in a few hours and you need to eat; you look dead on your feet," Marlene said, chivying Lily toward the door. Lily looked back at the four laughing boys, all of whom looked far too scheming and malevolent, and made a rather childish face at them. Sirius laughed and called something that made Lily grab for her wand, but Marlene had already pushed her outside the door.

"Let me curse him," Lily protested, fighting Marlene off as the bigger girl firmly steered her in the other direction. "I'm going to curse him so badly his beloved hair falls off. You hear me, Black? You'll be bald!" she shouted at the doors as Marlene pushed her down the corridor. "Bald!"

"Yes, well, passing over the subject of Black's baldness," Marlene said testily. "Come on! Come down to the Great Hall and you can tell me what's got you so angry."

Lily sighed, but finally gave up and allowed Marlene to pull her into the Great Hall. Mary spotted them and waved a piece of bread furiously, another piece threatening to fall from her bulging mouth.

"That's disgusting," Lily said, sitting down and pulling a plate toward her. Mary laughed and swallowed with difficulty.

"You look like Potter ran over your dog," Mary said, looking curious.

"I don't have a dog," Lily said, ignoring the tacit question. Mary looked annoyed and was just opening her mouth to reply when Lily pointed across the table. "Ooh, look, black pudding!" Lily said. Mary whipped around.

"Where?" she demanded.

This distraction only worked for a few moments. Marlene frowned at Lily across the table as Mary scattered food everywhere in search of black pudding. "You're ignoring the question," she said, primly spreading butter on her bread.

"Yes I am," Lily agreed, ducking a plate as Mary searched fruitlessly. "So good of you to notice."

"There's no black pudding," Mary said, looking frustrated and sitting back down. She pulled her overly full plate toward her and proceeded to stuff half of it in her mouth.

"'Ere's 'Anna," Mary said, spraying crumbs everywhere. Lily closed her eyes, then pulled a napkin toward her and took time wiping off her face. When she opened her eyes, Marlene had turned around, eyes full of what looked like malice.

"Who?" Lily questioned. "Oh," she said a moment later, her question answered.

Diana skulked into the room, looking decidedly pale and grey under the harsh morning light. She skittered up to the table and grabbed a plate of food. She had just turned around when Marlene stood and followed her, sauntering casually after her and out the doors of the Great Hall. Wondering where Marlene was going, Lily stood as well and followed her. Marlene called out to her a moment later.

"Hey! Diana!"

Diana stiffened, then turned around unwillingly, face drawn and sharp. Lily noticed she looked anxious and shifted from foot to foot every few seconds, and upon closer inspection, Lily could have sworn she saw a hint of grey in her hair.

"What?" she demanded, voice decidedly nasty.

"Oh, we were just wondering when you would turn back up," Marlene said, ignoring Lily's questioning look. "Where were you this time? Hexing first-years again?" Her gaze was all for Diana, and it was definitely not very pleasant. Diana's eyes snapped fire.

"That's none of your business, filth," she said, turning around.

"Fine," Marlene said idly, leaning back. "Go on, Miss Bully."

In a movement almost too fast for Lily to register, Diana dropped her plate and whipped around, hand flying to her wand. Marlene was more than ready, and she rolled out of the way as a jinx flew at her and nearly hit Lily.

"Move!" shouted Mary, launching herself at Lily and tackling her to the ground. Lily hit the ground hard, and unless she was quite mistaken, she thought she heard a small crack. She gasped in pain.

"Keep down," Mary hissed, pulling out her wand and peeking out from behind the wall. She ducked hurriedly as a spell from Diana left a smoking crater where her head was a moment ago. Lily could hear Diana screaming something at Marlene, who was laughing loudly as she ducked and dodged effortlessly. She moved quickly, but in a controlled way - in sharp contrast to Diana, who seemed utterly enraged and was hurling spells as fast as she could.

"You'll have to get faster if you want to hit me," Marlene taunted, ducking a light green jet of light.

"Filthy Mudblood!" Diana screamed back, her wand ripping through the air. Lily flinched slightly at the words, but Mary didn't notice. Putrid purple light gathered at the tip of Diana's wand as she advanced. Marlene laughed, ducking one spell. The second jet of light barely missed Lily, who was watching the fight in horror.

"We have to stop them," she hissed at Mary, who was busy trying to extinguish her cloak, which had caught on fire.

"I know!" Mary yelped, stomping her cloak. "How-"

Lily grabbed her and pulled her out of the way as a spell glanced off Marlene's Shield charm and hurtled toward them.

"You're losing your touch, Miss Bully!" Marlene shouted. "I'm not some innocent little kid you can-"

"Wingardium Leviosa!" screeched Diana, who seemed beyond reason. Marlene, who clearly didn't expect such a simple spell, halted briefly and cocked her head.

"Turning into one of your victims, are we?" Marlene asked. Diana grinned malevolently, and the next moment, a dozen chairs flew out of the Great Hall and hurtled at Marlene.

"Stupefy!" Lily shouted, throwing herself from around the corner. The spell missed as Diana leapt out of the way, capering with glee as Marlene desperately tried to outrun the chairs.

"I don't need your help!" Marlene yelled, tripping as a glancing blow from one of the chairs knocked her off balance.

"Well that's a shame, because you've got it!" Lily shouted back, trying and failing to hit Diana. Mary seemed to bloom out of nowhere, slamming into Diana and knocking her to the ground.

A few students had gathered around to watch the fight, but they scattered as the chairs chasing Marlene clattered to the floor. One of them broke and Lily threw herself to the floor as shards of wood rained everywhere. Diana and Mary were rolling around on the ground, Mary trying to cast a spell while Diana seemed content to tear at her with her bare hands.

Lily danced agitatedly on the sidelines, hands to her mouth as she tried to see how she could hit Diana without hitting Mary. Marlene was now battling the chairs, which had reanimated themselves and were now throwing themselves at her.

"Where are the teachers?" Lily screamed, ducking shards of wood once again.

"Dunno!" Marlene bellowed back. Lily whirled as Diana gave an exultant scream. Mary toppled to the ground, arms stiff by her sides and face frozen in an expression of dawning surprise and pain. Diana danced wildly, directing the chairs again with her wand. Lily shouted a curse, but it missed as Diana leapt around frenziedly.

"Oh forget it," she snarled, as Diana drew a bit too close. She threw away her wand and drew back her fist before slamming it into her face. Lily would have felt quite bad at the look of shock on Diana's face had she not been attempting to attack them. She fell, hitting the ground with a muffled crunch.

"What," Lily panted, massaging her very painful hand. "Was that about?"

Marlene grimly put her wand back into her sleeve. She scowled down at Diana, and Lily felt quite unnerved by the look of pure hatred on her face. She scooped up Diana's wand and looked as if she wanted to snap it. "That is because she is a filthy, bullying, arrogant berk who should have been in Slytherin," Marlene said, a very ugly look on her face. "Leave her," she said shortly to Lily, who was kneeling next to Diana.

"She _is_ our roommate," Lily protested, tracing her wand over the bruises on Diana's face. They shimmered slightly, then vanished. Lily smiled in satisfaction and stood up, brushing her robes off. Marlene gave her a look of disgust.

"You're wasting your time," she said, but she dropped Diana's wand, where it clattered next to its unconscious owner. "Nice punch, by the way," she said to Lily, who could only manage a tiny smile. "Now, let's go to Charms. Old Flitwick never notices people talking, so you can tell us what had you so angry."

Lily sighed unhappily. "Do I have to tell you?" she asked pitifully.

Marlene smiled. "Yes, you do."

Lily groaned.

* * *

"And then he told me I would never risk my Prefect reputation," Lily finished to her spellbound audience. Mary and Marlene gaped at her, Mary spluttering in fury.

"Well – well, we'll just have to prove him wrong, won't we?" Mary said angrily, jabbing her wand absently at her bottle of water she was supposed to be turning into wine. It turned an angry red colour, then exploded. The three girls ducked the shards of glass, and Professor Flitwick, who had been approaching, was forced to conjure a Shielding spell to avoid being cut by the flying glass.

"Practice," he squeaked reproachfully. "Lots and lots of practice, Miss Macdonald. Miss Evans, could you demonstrate?"

"Of course, professor," Lily said, gracefully waving her wand. The water darkened into a reddish hue.

Mary scowled.

"Very good, Miss Evans! Ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick said. He turned to Marlene, looking rather anxious. "Miss McKinnon, could you demonstrate the spell as well?" he asked apprehensively. Marlene smiled brightly.

"Sure!"she said, gracelessly stabbing her wand at the bottle of water. It shivered slightly, then turned into a-

"A ferret," Professor Flitwick said disapprovingly, watching the pure white ferret sniff at Marlene, who was delighted. She cooed at it and picked it up, wrapping it around her neck like a living scarf. "Miss McKinnon, I believe you need practice as well."

Marlene pulled faces at him as he turned around and hurried toward a boy whose wand was issuing large pink bubbles.

"Old berk," she said as the ferret, which seemed quite tame, curled up in her bushy hair. Lily turned away from the two girls as they cooed over the ferret and caught Sirius' eye. He smirked at her nastily in a way she really didn't like.

"Sirius is looking at me," she whined.

"Who cares?" Marlene said, petting the ferret.

"I do," she hissed.

"If you mind it that much, tell him to look at me," Mary said. Lily gasped dramatically.

"My best friends are defecting – you're abandoning me for _them_!" she said, pressing a hand to her forehead. Mary giggled.

"They really aren't that bad," Mary started, but she went quiet at the look on Lily's face.

"They – are – evil," she said firmly. Marlene sniggered. "Oh, shut it," she said.

Lily, Mary, and Marlene sat on Lily's bed, heads bent together as they whispered to each other, ignoring Clarice, who kept casting suspicious looks at them.

"No, that's silly, Mary," Lily whispered. Mary crossed her arms.

"I don't see _you_ coming up with anything better," she hissed. Lily opened her mouth to retaliate, but Marlene hissed at them both to be quiet.

"I have an idea," she said triumphantly. "But before I tell you, I need to ask you something, Lily."

"What?" Lily asked. Marlene tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking serious.

"Lily, do you want them to know it was us?" she asked. Lily considered it for a moment.

"Hmm… I want to prank them once or twice before telling them it was us… I want to show Potter that I _can_ prank people, and he's _wrong,_" she said with such vigor that Mary and Marlene leaned back in alarm. "What was your idea, Marlene?"

Marlene grinned mischievously.

* * *

Sirius woke up with a yawn and stretched, admiring the way the sun shone on his _beautiful _body. He spent a few minutes admiring himself, then finally stood, only to shriek in horror. Peter fell out of his bed with a yelp.

"Wha's wrong?" he asked sleepily, looking at Sirius curiously, and rubbing a strand of dirty-blond hair from his eyes. A moment later, he too yelped in horror and leapt to his feet. Sirius saw or heard nothing of this.

Severus Snape was lying on James' bed.

"Oh, hello, Sirius," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes. A strand of greasy black hair fell into his eyes as he stood and yawned loudly.

"W-what are you d-doing here?" Sirius stammered, groping behind him for his wand. Snape made a point of looking around the room, which was covered in green banners and symbols of snakes .Sirius was irresistibly reminded of his parent's house.

"This is my common room," he said, looking confused. He stood and walked over to Sirius, who fell back with a yelp.

"Get away!" shouted Sirius. "Why are you being nice to me? Why am I here? Where am I?"

Snape looked very confused. "Well, you're in the Slytherin common room," he said slowly, as if explaining it to an imbecile. "You have been since first-year. You were Sorted into Slytherin, remember?"

"What?" Sirius spluttered, but Snape wasn't done.

"And why am I being nice to you?" he said, looking bemused. "I think I can be nice to my best mate!"

With that, Sirius let out an earsplitting scream and fell over in a dead faint.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Sirius sat shivering on his bed. Snape was in the bathroom, taking a shower while singing loudly. Sirius cringed and covered his head with a pillow in an effort to block out Snape's rusty voice.

"What's happening?"he asked himself for what must have been the hundredth time. He shuddered and rocked back and forth on his bed, humming loudly to try to block out the voice drifting from the bathroom.

"This is bad, this is bad," he chanted, hugging his pillow.

_When Snape comes out here, I'm going to hex the filthy Dark Arts loving prat… maybe that will fix it… yes, yes, that makes sense…_ Actually it didn't, but Sirius was not in the mood for rational thought. Faint voices seemed to be issuing from somewhere, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't see anyone.

_Maybe I'm going mad… that explains it all! I've gone mad… I hope dear old Mum doesn't get her hands on my frothing body…_ Sirius cringed as Snape hit a particularly high note. Deciding that his inner voices might have some ideas about his predicament, he lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes, listening.

_It was like listening to a badly tuned piano,_ he thought idly, listening to Snape screech in a terrible approximation of singing. He closed his eyes and listened to the voices, deciding that if he was mad, at least he would make the best of it. The voices seemed to be arguing.

"_That is the worst idea I've ever heard in my entire life!" _a shrill voice was saying angrily. Sirius smiled. It sounded a lot like Lily, and he decided it made sense that his 'rational' inner voice would sound like Lily. He decided to dub the voice 'Lily-Junior'.

"_I can't believe those filthy Slytherins did this,_" an angry voice echoed in his head. Sirius frowned. Having a voice that sounded like Lily was one thing, but having one that sounded like James was going a bit far.

"_Potter, I _told _you, I did it,"_ Lily-Junior said irritably.

"_And I told y_ou_ that little miss Prefect wouldn't ruin her reputation. I know you still feel loyal to Sniv-"_

"_Don't you dare!" _Lily-Junior exploded. Sirius winced, wishing his inner voices would be a little quieter.

"_Okay, okay!"_ the voice that sounded like James said._ "Harpy,_" the voice muttered. Sirius grinned and decided to call this voice 'Prongslet'. He thought James would be touched that he named a voice in his head after him.

"_Well,_" interceded another voice. "_We need to fix this, not argue. Lily, do you have any ideas?"_

"_Well, you should have asked me in the first place," _Lily-Junior said snootily. Sirius wished his inner voices would stop arguing. They were beginning to give him a headache.

"_We're asking you now," _yet another voice said, sounding frustrated. Sirius' brow wrinkled. Peter? Was everyone he knew going to be a voice in his head? He promptly decided that the moment Argus Filch began to speak inside his head, he was taking a flying leap off the Astronomy Tower. Sirius shuddered at the thought of the ancient caretaker inside his head, which promptly led off the thoughts about Mrs. Norris and why she wasn't Miss Norris. Sirius decided he didn't want to know.

"_Well,"_ Lily-Junior said. "_I can probably remove the spell… give me a minute."_

At that moment, the bathroom door burst open and Sirius leapt up with a yelp. Snape skipped out, his hair pulled into braids tied with pink ribbons. Sirius took one look, then ran for the door with a scream.

* * *

Lily stared down at the comatose body of Sirius, who was looking very uncomfortable indeed. He kept thrashing around and moaning things like "No… hate ribbons… stop braiding my hair, Snivelly…"

Lily decided she didn't want to know.

She tapped her wand against the bed thoughtfully. James, who was still looking disoriented and kept shaking his head experimentally, crossed the room to stand by her side.

"Any luck?" he asked, looking uncharacteristically worried. Lily turned her icy gaze on him.

"There might be some if you were bothering me right now," she said. James beat a hasty retreat and she returned to thinking carefully. She supposed it was good that James and the others had managed to throw off their visions, but she wasn't sure why Sirius hadn't. Just as the thought occurred to her, Sirius moaned once more and thrashed more violently than ever.

"No… not… stop it… leave me alone… not Slytherin…no!"

She frowned, then put her wand to his sweating forehead. He was groaning and rolling around now.

"Hold him down," she said briefly to James, who nodded and pinned Sirius' arms. Peter wordlessly pinned one of his legs to the bed, and was followed by Remus. She tapped her wand once against his pale forehead, then murmured a spell. She waited a moment, then repeated the motion two more times.

Sirius opened his mouth and screamed.

* * *

Bellatrix was standing in front of him, smiling imperiously, looking regally beautiful in a green silk robe. Sirius stood, dumbstruck and feeling very small and young once again. When she saw him, she wrapped him in a one armed hug that was more perfunctory than anything else.

"Ah, Sirius! My talented cousin, prize jewel of the Blacks," Bellatrix said to him, ignoring his effort to get free. She grinned conspiratorially. "Tortured any Mudbloods recently?" she asked in whisper, smiling at him proudly.

"W-what?"

She laughed and he flinched at the sound, because it always heralded pain, but not this time.

"Oh Sirius," she said, and she sounded like she were talking to a wayward child, but a favorite one. "You've been doing so well! You got your Dark Mark and I'm so proud of you! My little cousin, one of the youngest Death Eaters yet!" she giggled. "You're even younger than Regulus was!"

"What?" he croaked out. It was all he could manage. Bellatrix smiled.

"I came all the way to Hogwarts to congratulate you, and that's all you can say?" she asked with a little pout. He stiffened. That pout meant nothing but agony and terror, but instead she laughed again. "Actually," she said in the air of confiding to a conspirator. "I didn't just come here to congratulate you, admirable though your feat was. I have a little treat for you!"

"W-what's that?" he whispered. Bellatrix laughed maliciously and dragged him further down the corridor.

"I'm taking an awful risk, doing this right under Dumbledore's nose," she went on, pulling him in front of a tapestry of a man being clubbed by trolls. She began to stride back and forth in front of it, and Sirius decided she had gone mad – not that it would be much of a change. "But that's half the fun, now isn't it?"

She laughed her crystalline little laugh. A door appeared in the wall and she dragged Sirius through with taloned hands.

* * *

"Something's wrong," Lily whispered, smoothing back a strand of Sirius' hair. He moaned loudly. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

No one heard her; they were fussing over Sirius. James was striding back and forth, wildly gesticulating and cursing the Slytherins with every imaginable word.

"No… not a Slytherin… I'm a Gryffindor… no… Bella, no!" Sirius cried, writhing around. His fingers clawed at the bed sheets until they whitened.

Lily laid a hand on Sirius' sweaty forehead. He seemed soothed by the touch.

"Sirius," she whispered, then paused. She felt silly talking to him, but she plunged on. "Sirius, I want you to know that none of this is real…"

She hoped he would hear her.

* * *

Bellatrix dragged him into the room, one sharply nailed hand covering his eyes.

"Now," she whispered to him. "Here's your present."

Somehow, Sirius doubted it was a surprise party. She took her hand off his eyes and smiled broadly.

"What do you think? It was hard to capture her, but I think you'll have fun with her… I'll even help you!"

Sirius heard none of this. His eyes were focused on the blindfolded and gagged woman slumped hopelessly against the wall. Manacles rattled softly as she raised her head, soft red hair falling to her shoulders. Though her eyes were invisible past the rough cloth, Sirius knew what they would look like. He knew the exact colour, shape, and size of those eyes. He had heard James rhapsodize on their qualities many times, after all. Sirius knew exactly what shade of green they would be.

Bellatrix, seemingly frustrated at his lack of reaction, strode across the room and harshly yanked the gag from her mouth. "I want to hear her scream," Bellatrix said with a pretty pout. She tossed her glossy hair. "It's not like anyone will hear her, right, Sirius?"

He didn't respond. Sirius didn't even think his mouth worked at the moment. Bellatrix sighed pointedly, then tore the blindfold from the girl's eyes.

Lily Evans slowly raised her head to stare at Sirius.

"Black," she whispered. Sirius couldn't move. It seemed as if her green eyes pinned him to the spot as they searched his own eyes. Whatever they were looking for, however, they didn't find, and after a moment, Lily bowed her head again. No, Sirius forced himself to think. This wasn't Lily. This wasn't him.

The Fake-Lily shook her head slightly and the manacles rattled.

"What are you waiting for?" Bellatrix demanded. "Go on, Cruciate the filthy Mudblood!"

"She's not," Sirius blurted out. The Fake-Lily raised her head to look at him curiously. "Don't call her that. She doesn- she's not… she hates that…"

"Who cares what a dirty monkey like her thinks?" Bellatrix jeered, dark eyes glaring at Sirius.

"I do," whispered Sirius. His mouth didn't seem to be working quite right. Lily – no, Sirius made himself think – the Fake-Lily behind him gasped slightly, but none of them moved. Bellatrix walked forward slowly, plump lips parted slightly, tongue running around them slowly, lazily.

"No," she whispered. "You don't. You hate Mudbloods. You are Slytherin. You're a Death Eater; you support the Dark Lord…" somehow her sibilant whisper seemed to be worming itself in his brain and he couldn't move, let alone think.

"I'm not a Slytherin!" he suddenly blurted out. Bellatrix stared. He plunged recklessly on. "I'm a Gryffindor. And I am _not _a Death Eater. I never will be._" _He raised his head proudly, his heart thundering in his chest. Bellatrix looked taken-aback.

"Well, this changes things…" she whispered hoarsely, still staring into his eyes. Faster than he could even move, she had yanked out her wand and pointed it behind her, at the Fake-Lily.

"Bella, no!" he shouted, but it was far too late.

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a soft _thump_ and Lily – no, Fake-Lily, he thought determinedly – toppled, her manacles vanished. She hit the ground and lay on her side, green eyes staring blankly forward. To Sirius, it was as if they were gazing accusingly at him, asking "_Why didn't you save me?"_

Sirius screamed and tried to run to her side, but Bellatrix was already there and she was wrapping her arms around him as he thrashed and fought.

"NO!"

"Shhh," she whispered in his ear as he bucked around, fighting to be free. "Shh… the Mudblood's corrupted you, that's all… Shhh…"

"No, no, no!" Sirius sobbed. Bellatrix let him go and he fell to the ground, his knees hitting the ground hard. He fell onto his side and curled up into a ball, sobbing.

"Get up!" Bellatrix said, kicking at him. "She was filth, not worth your tears! Get up!"

Sirius shook his head and ignored her. "Get up, Sirius, or I swear I will Cruciate the life and sanity from you!" Bellatrix screamed.

He ignored her.

* * *

Lily watched helplessly as Sirius cried weakly, thrashing around and screaming.

"We need to do something," she said to the others.

"We've needed to do something for the last hour!" James shouted at her. She flinched slightly.

"This… this is getting desperate. There's one spell… I didn't want to use it, because it's tricky and there can be consequences…"

"Any life threatening?" James butted in recklessly. She shook her head. "Then let's do it."

* * *

Lily was dead. And it was his fault.

These two thoughts were all consuming, and they were destroying Sirius. He curled up into a ball only feet from her body, and he cried. Her green eyes were dull already and they were so accusatory…

Bellatrix strode back and forth, her high-heeled shoes inches from his face. She aimed a kick at him.

"Stupid boy!" she raged. "She was filthy! A dirty Mudblood! Filth! She's not worth the spit from a Muggle!"

Sirius stared dully at Lily. And indeed she was Lily, not Fake-Lily, because he was a Slytherin and it was his fault. Bellatrix kicked him hard again.

"Idiotic filthy Muggle-loving scum!" she screamed. "You are a disgrace!" She strode over to Lily's body and placed one elegant foot on her face. She began to grind the high heel into Lily's face. "She's a Mudblood!"

"Don't!" screamed Sirius, standing and launching himself at her. "Don't call her that!"

And now Bellatrix was on the ground, face stunned, and he was pounding every inch of her with his fists and weeping bitterly. She was reaching for her wand and it was going to be quick, and somehow, Sirius couldn't even bring himself to care.

"I'm going to murder every single filthy Mudblood in this school, and you're going to watch!" Bellatrix snarled, slamming her elbow into his face. Stunned, he fell off her and she grabbed her wand and pointed it at him. All he could do was gaze up at it pitifully. Somehow, one of the voices from earlier seemed to drift into his mind as he lay there.

"_It's not real, Sirius. None of it was real. It doesn't matter what's happening… _None of it is real!_" _

_

* * *

_

Somehow Sirius found himself kneeling next to Lily's body. Bellatrix lay on the ground behind him, her eyes just as dull as Lily's. He couldn't find it within him to even care. He cradled Lily's head in his lap.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he wept. "I'm sorry…"

Something odd seemed to be happening. As a tear ran down his face and fell, it seemed to freeze mid-air. Sirius frowned and cocked his head. Nothing really seemed to matter though. Maybe it was the universe stopping to punish his sins. The tear exploded.

Lily's body began to glow slightly, then she shattered into a thousand pieces as well.

Sirius yelled in horror and tried to leap back only to realise that his feet had shattered as well. His entire body was disintegrating from the bottom up. Sirius looked around, panicked, but Hogwarts was shattering like crystal as well. The pieces congealed together, vibrating until they too exploded and everything went black.

Sirius leapt to his feet with an almighty scream.

Lily stood in front of him, looking surprised with her wand half raised. James was lying sprawled on the ground, as were Peter and Remus, all of them looking dazed. Lily's mouth was half open and then she grinned at him.

"_Lily,"_ he whispered, and for a moment she was the only thing in the world and she was _alive. Y_-you're alive?" he whispered, and he was surprised that his voice was so raspy. "I-I'm in Gryffindor?" He looked around. The banners were red and gold, as were his bed sheets. Peter and Remus and James were all there, gathering around him and smiling at him and they were all _wondrously _real. He was shaking furiously and something was blurring his vision. He reached up a hand absently to find hot tears.

Lily took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around him and she was _real._

"It's fine, Sirius," she whispered into his ear. "Everything's alright…"

Sirius collapsed into his friends' arms, and for the first time in his life, he wept unrestrainedly.


	19. Missing

**Author's Notes: Thank you so much for the reviews! Also, as a shameless plug, I've started a Draco/Pansy two-shot, just in case anyone cares. I hope this chapter is okay and I'm sorry it was a bit late. I sort of forgot… Sorry!**

**_Thanks for reading!_**

_**

* * *

**_

Feeling it would be prudent, Lily turned away as Sirius cried, his shoulders shaking furiously. His friends were gathered around him, talking quietly to each other and comforting Sirius. There was a funny feeling somewhere around the vicinity of her midriff, one she rarely felt: guilt.

Ears burning and head bowed, she quietly left the room, vowing she would make it up to Sirius once his friends had left. She slipped into the girls' dormitory. Mary was snoring loudly and Marlene was frantically writing on a piece of parchment. She looked up at the sound of the door's click and her face broke into a wide smile.

"Lily!" she exclaimed. "What's Jupiter's biggest moon – Lily? Are you okay?"

Lily silently moved to her bed, then collapsed onto it, staring at the ceiling. The fiery words she had inscribed a few days ago still glowed brightly. It felt like years ago. Lily felt empty, drained. The feeling of crushing sadness nearly overwhelmed her and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Lily? Did the prank go wrong?"

"No," Lily said, then paused. She was surprised at how rusty her voice sounded. "It worked."

"That's great! What are we going to do next, then? I got some products from Zonko's-"

"No," Lily said sharply. "No more pranks."

Marlene frowned, then moved over to Lily.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, it worked perfectly," Lily spat. "Only Sirius couldn't wake up. He only woke up when I preformed the counter-spell that could have left him blind. He's in there, sobbing."

Marlene's mouth fell open into a perfect 'O'.

"Oh Merlin," she whispered. "That wasn't supposed to happen…"

"Yeah," Lily said acidly. "I figured that out, funnily enough." She wasn't sure why she felt anger coursing through her with such strength, but at the moment she hated everything about the world. Marlene frowned slightly, sucking on the tip of her quill. She spat a bit of ink out a second later.

"Eurgh… but Lily, just because one prank didn't go well doesn't mean we can't continue… I have several ideas that are really harmless-"

"And we all saw how well your last idea worked out," Lily said icily. Clarice poked her head out from her bed.

"Shut it, you idiots!" she whined. "I'm trying to finish my Transfiguration essay!"

"Yeah, and with your sterling brains it'll be next year before your finish, you imbecile," Lily hissed. Clarice's mouth dropped. Marlene watched them avidly, a small crease appearing on her forehead.

"How dare you!" she said, voice rising.

"Oh, shut your ugly mouth, Clarice," Lily said. Clarice began to splutter with apoplectic rage. Something clicked in Marlene's head.

"We're just going for a walk, Clarice," Marlene said, grabbing Lily's arm and pulling her toward the door. Lily resisted, trying to yank her arm out of Marlene's grasp.

"Let go of me, you filthy, grubby-"

"Oh, be quiet," Marlene said shortly, dragging Lily out the door and through the common room. Lily resisted and dragged her feet, grabbing at any available surface to stop Marlene. "Stop it, you aren't two years old," Marlene hissed. Lily sighed, then stopped. Marlene smirked at her victory.

"Fine," Lily said resignedly. Marlene loosened her grip slightly, which was what Lily was waiting for. The red-head bolted down the corridor, and Marlene followed, swearing furiously.

"Come back here!" Marlene shouted. Lily's only response was a rude gesture as she sprinted for a hidden passage. Marlene caught up after a second, seizing Lily's arm and dragging her back.

"Stop!"

Lily whirled around, fist already raised, but Marlene was ready. Her wand-tip was pressed between Lily's eyes in a second, and she whispered a spell. Lily's eyes widened, then she collapsed.

"Sorry," Marlene whispered, bending over. Lily groaned slightly and sat up, rubbing her head confusedly.

"What happened?" she asked, shaking her head experimentally.

"Side effect of the charm you used," Marlene said, feeling Lily's forehead. "Some of the emotions of the victim are transferred to the caster."

"Oh," Lily said, then fell silent for a moment. "I was a massive prat, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, you were," Marlene said with a grin. Lily blushed. Marlene held out a hand for her and she accepted it, swaying slightly.

"I suppose I'll have to apologise to Clarice," Lily sighed, brushing her robes off. "Well, let's-"

"Shh!" Marlene said suddenly, turning. Lily cocked her head curiously.

"What?"

Marlene's only response was a frantic motion for silence. She crept closer to the door to an empty classroom, and Lily followed her stealthily.

"What is it?" she whispered to Marlene, who had her ear pressed to the door.

"Listen," she mouthed at Lily, moving back so that she could listen as well. Frowning, Lily pressed her ear to the door. The sound of muffled voices from within piqued her interest, and she listened.

"It was reckless and stupid," a voice was saying angrily. Lily frowned. Arguing students didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, and she started to move away. Marlene made furious gestures for her to listen again and she sighed wearily, but acquiesced.

"I'm sorry!" said another voice, this one sounding slightly younger and angry. Lily frowned. There was something very familiar about that voice…

"That's no excuse," the older voice retorted. "Though that filth might have been a Muggle-lover, you don't – draw – attention – to – yourself! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Oh, shut up," the girl's voice said sharply. "I don't notice _you_ hurrying to do his bidding-"

"Also," the male voice said, cutting over her protests. "I can't believe that you would lose to_ her!_ Come on! That's pathetic."

"Shut up, Mulciber!" the girl said. She lowered her voice slightly and Lily strained to listen. "She had friends! I couldn't beat a bunch of them at once-"

"They were Mudbloods!" the boy said. Lily stiffened at the word, but she listened all the harder.

"Shut up, just shut up!" the girl said, sounding harried. "I'll do it, okay? Just give me a few days – someone's bound to notice I haven't been in classes recently. Old McGonagall's already poking her overlarge nose in places it doesn't belong."

"Enough with the excuses!" the boy retorted. "If you don't – wait, did you hear that?"

There was a moment of frozen silence. Neither girl dared to move, frozen in case the others heard them and the two on the other side of the door seemed to be listening just as intently.

"I'll look… if it's a Mudblood, curse it before it can raise alarms," the girl said after a moment of silence. Lily, whose heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest, began to back away, knowing Marlene was doing the same beside her. They heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and the door creaked slightly as the girl on the other side began to open it cautiously.

Lily and Marlene didn't wait to see the girl's face; both of them sprinted as silently as possible toward the Gryffindor common room.

A few minutes later, Lily slid down the wall, panting for breath. Marlene collapsed beside her, clutching a stitch in her side.

"W-who…?" Lily said as soon as she could talk. Marlene shook her head silently, wheezing. Paranoid, Lily shot glances down the corridor every few seconds as if expecting to see Death Eaters leap out of hiding.

"Common room," Marlene panted. Lily nodded and hastily stood. Both girls hurried to the safety of their common room, both sneaking worried glances over their shoulders.

"Boomslang," Lily gasped at the portrait of a plump woman in a pink dress, who nodded. The portrait swung open and both girls quickly clambered in. Still feeling a bit paranoid, Lily climbed the stairs and hurried in.

"Mary!" she hissed at the still-snoring girl, who merely grunted and rolled over. "Mary, wake up!"

"Let me do it," Marlene said casually, sauntering up to Mary and pulling out her wand. She mouthed something that Lily couldn't quite make out and wriggled her wand around Mary. Lily gasped as the smell of toast wafted toward them. Her stomach rumbled loudly and Lily unconsciously licked her lips.

"Food," Mary groaned, rolling over and opening one eye.

"Mary, please wake up. We have to tell you something," Lily said. Mary groaned unhappily.

"That never means anything good…" she sat, reluctantly sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Lily smiled grimly.

"No, it doesn't," she agreed.

* * *

A few minutes later, Mary sat staring at them both, mouth gaping.

"Why do I always miss the important things?" she said finally. Marlene, who was perched on the side of her bed, merely shrugged, her mouth full of Chocolate Frogs. "Those are _mine_," Mary said in scandalised tones.

Marlene grinned. "'Oo wann 'em bah?" she asked helpfully. Mary gave her a look of pure disdain.

"No, I do not want them back, you pig," she said, shovingher off the bed. Marlene hit the ground with a thump, and continued to shovel Chocolate Frogs into her mouth. Mary scowled, then turned back to look at Lily.

"Do you think they were serious?" Mary asked, and Lily heard a small quaver in her voice. Though she wanted to comfort her friend, the best she could do was shrug.

"I don't know…" she said noncommittally.

"A-and you said Mulciber was there?" Mary questioned, and though she tried to disguise it, Lily saw the rising panic in her eyes.

"They may have been using the names of other students just to throw eavesdroppers off…" Lily offered hopefully, but Mary wasn't fooled.

"Oh," she said. "Right."

"It's okay, Mary," Lily said comfortingly. "We definitely won't let Mulciber get you again."

"Yeah, I know," Mary said with an unconvincing smile. She quickly changed the subject. "Maybe we should report it."

"Maybe… I don't want to waste Professor Dumbledore's time, though…" Lily said uncertainly. "I'm not sure they were serious…"

"Still, couldn't hurt, could it?" Marlene said, swallowing the last bit of chocolate with difficulty. She continued, licking her fingers occasionally. "I mean, what if they were serious? We don't want people to get hurt."

"Yeah, I guess," Lily agreed after a moment of thought. "I'll tell McGonagall in the morning."

"Good," said Mary decisively. With the conversation finished, Lily hopped off the bed and began to change into her pyjamas.

"Night," she yawned, crawling into her bed. Her only responses were loud snores from Mary and Marlene.

* * *

When Lily woke in the morning, Mary and Marlene were already gone, but she thought nothing of it. Only Clarice was still in her bed, snoring loudly. Lily yawned tiredly as she pulled a brush through her tangled hair, then threw it down and hurried down the stairs.

James was draped over a chair, snoring very loudly. Peter was curled into a little ball near the fireplace and Sirius was passed out in the middle of the common room. Remus was curled up in a chair, a book dangling in his hand. Several empty firewhiskey bottles lay abandoned next to them. Lily sighed and shook her head, then crossed the room to poke at Peter.

"Wake up, boys, or you'll be… late…" Lily trailed off, frowning at a bit of parchment that lay beside the snoring James. Curiosity piqued, she picked the parchment up and scanned it, her frown deepening rapidly. Once she managed to decipher the terrible spelling and handwriting and got past the lewd comments scrawled by Sirius, she realised it was a rather intricate plan to prank Snape and his friends. She growled under her breath.

"Stupid prats… I swear, if you go through with this, I'm unleashing Marlene on you," she muttered, staring at a particularly disgusting comment from Sirius and making a note to give him detention if he ever said it aloud. She tucked the parchment in her bag, then glanced outside.

"Oh no," she groaned. "I'm going to be late…"

She aimed one last prod at Peter in hopes of waking him, then hurried toward the portrait hole. Before she could open it, it opened, seemingly by itself. Diana skulked in, looking very shifty indeed. She scowled at the sight of Lily.

"Why aren't you in class?" Lily asked with a distinct touch of coolness. Diana shrugged, then made to step by her. Lily moved in front of her, green eyes narrowing.

"I'm a Prefect. I can't just let you skive off," Lily said. Diana snorted.

"Shove off, Evans," she said sharply, pushing past Lily and up to the girls' dormitory.

"I'll give you detention," Lily called after her. Diana ignored her completely and Lily, swearing under her breath, stomped out of the common room.

When she finally did arrive at the Divination classroom, she was five minutes late already. Professor Cassandra swept over to her, faded red locks swaying from their overly-teased hairstyle.

"You are late again!" she announced, as though it were not plainly evident. Lily bit back a sarcastic response and instead smiled winningly at her.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, some Prefect duties delayed me slightly," she said innocently. It was true, after all. Professor Cassandra blinked dimly, then wandered off to gaze out the window. Lily took a seat at a round table next to Marlene, who was covertly reading a magazine under the table.

"A storm is coming," Professor Cassandra announced. The class stared at her and Lily glanced over at the window. Thunder cracked in the distance and grey clouds were rolling in. Lily sighed and rubbed her eyes, yawning slightly. Professor Cassandra wandered over to the fireplace, where a pot of tea was boiling.

"The tea leaves shall be ready soon…" she said in a mournful voice. She ghosted over to the side of the room where she stood, staring at the teacups on the opposite wall.

"Take out your copies of _Unfogging the Future_ and turn to pages five and six for instructions about reading tea leaves_,_" she said and Lily frowned. She raised her hand primly and as Professor Cassandra turned around, she looked at her questioningly.

"Professor, we read tea leaves in third-year," she said as politely as possible. Professor Cassandra blinked owlishly.

"I feel that the knowledge of discerning the future in this manner will be important soon…" she murmured, floating to the window once more. Lily and Marlene exchanged bewildered glances, but both girls pulled out the book.

"Turn to pages five and six," Professor Cassandra said, staring out the window at the coming storm. "I will pour you tea and you will drink it… you will read the tea leaves and predict the future of your partner…"

She closed her eyes and began to hum. Lily and Marlene raised their eyebrows at each other, then Lily shrugged slightly. She flipped to the pages as ordered. The snarling face of a great black dog stared at her, yellowed teeth bared and thick ropes of drool hanging from its slavering jaws. Lily couldn't help but think the artist had greatly embellished the concept of the Grim.

"The tea is nearly done," Professor Cassandra said mistily, drifting back to the fireplace. Lily frowned skeptically but a moment later the shrill whistle of the teapot rang out. Once the bustle to get their teacups filled was over, Lily resumed her place at the table and began to swill the tea, yawning occasionally.

Professor Cassandra still hummed as she stared absently out the window past Hagrid's hut and at the billowing clouds.

"A storm is coming," she said once again. She turned, tattered skirts swaying as she did, and walked to Lily and Marlene. "Drink the tea, my dears…"

Lily and Marlene obliged, wincing at the scalding pain as they did so. Professor Cassandra wandered off and Marlene rolled her eyes.

"She's a nutter," Marlene muttered out of the corner of her mouth. Professor Cassandra, who was now on the other side of the room, smiled dreamily.

"I assure you, I am quite sane… now, drink the tea, then exchange cups with your partner and gaze into the future…"

Lily sighed and handed over her cup, receiving Marlene's in exchange.

"You first," Lily yawned. Marlene scowled, but peered into the cup.

"An… is that an hat or a sheep, d'you reckon?" she asked, holding out the cup for inspection. Lily shrugged idly. "Or maybe a donkey…"

"Dunno," she muttered. The soft crackling of the fire was lulling her into a stupor.

"Uh…" Marlene consulted the book, eyebrows raising skeptically. "Well, according to the book, you're going to die a painful death yet live a fulsome and happy life…" Marlene said, looking skeptical. She snorted. "Right. That makes _perfect _sense. Also, apparently you're going to work in the Ministry yet be rich. Yeah, that just seals it. _No one _who works in the Ministry is rich."

Lily yawned in reply. Marlene snorted unamusedly.

"Read mine, then," she said. Lily peered into the cup. The soggy brown lump simply sat there. No intriguing shapes leapt out at her, no interesting words formed in the bottom of the cup.

"This is a waste of time," she snorted. As if Summoned, Professor Cassandra appeared behind Marlene, who yelped loudly.

"If I may, my dear…?" she said, holding out a hand for the cup. Lily handed it to her. The older woman peered into the cup, turning it slowly.

"Oh dear…" she murmured. "Miss McKinnon, watch your back for one you call a friend…"

Marlene rolled her eyes and Lily stifled a giggle. Professor Cassandra ignored her, slowly turning the cup.

"You will marry and be very happy… congratulations on your two children…" she said mistily. Marlene mimed gagging behind her back and Lily snorted with laughter.

"Oh no… your death at a young age will not be entirely unexpected, but tragic nonetheless," Professor Cassandra finished mournfully, handing the cup back to Lily. Marlene dramatically pressed a hand to her forehead and pretended to collapse. This time, Lily couldn't resist giggling.

"Your amusement at the subject tells me that you have little faith in it…" Professor Cassandra said sadly. Lily immediately straightened.

"Oh no, Professor," she assured her. "I really do… it's just…"

"Youth is such a happy time," Professor Cassandra said, drifting off. Marlene sniggered. Outside, a bell rang and the professor looked up in surprise.

"How quickly time flies… you are dismissed. Mister Stebbins?" she said suddenly. The nervous, pimply boy turned around slowly, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

"W-what?" he stammered. She smiled mistily.

"Please, don't invite Mister Black to your wedding in May," she said, walking to the window again. "When he hides a firecracker in the cake and it explodes all over Miss Everly, she is quite upset…"

The boy nodded quickly, then practically dived out of the door, crimson in the face, his laughing friends following him.

Marlene rolled her eyes once more, then hurried toward the door.

"Come on," she said in an undertone to Lily. "You don't want to be stuck with the old bat."

"Sure," Lily agreed absently, picking up her bag. She gave one last look at Professor Cassandra, who gave her a sad smile, then hurried out the door.

* * *

Lily was about ready to cry from boredom.

In front of her, Professor Binns wafted around, ghostly hands gesturing occasionally. A chill wind was whistling against a cracked windowpane and Lily shivered. Marlene was snoring loudly, her head lying on her desk.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were huddled in the corner, making no effort to keep their voices down. Every so often, Lily would catch tantalizing snatches of their conversation.

"Douse them in Bubotuber pus…" Sirius was whispering. Lily had a rather horrible suspicion she knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Curse them to say Gryffindor is the best?" James whispered. Peter tilted his head.

"Maybe… I think we should-"

Lily cleared her throat loudly, then stared menacingly over at them. Peter let out a tiny squeak, then they all smiled in what they thought was a pleasant way. In reality, it looked as if they had toothaches.

"Don't you dare," Lily hissed at them, writing a note on her parchment. James tried his best to look innocent.

"We're not doing anything, Evans!" he protested. She raised an eyebrow.

"And those plans I found this morning?"

Sirius clapped a hand to his head.

"I knew we shouldn't have left them laying around," he muttered to his friends.

"Excuse me!" Lily said angrily. "If you prank the Slytherins for something they didn't do I'll – I'll-"

"Stutter at us?" James asked, grinning smugly at her. Her eyes narrowed darkly.

"I'll make you_ see_ that it was me who did it."

James rolled his eyes. "Evans. Come on. I – know – you're – covering – for – them," he said, looking bored. "Miss Prefect would never ruin her reputation. Now, can you please stop trying to fool us?"

"Idiots!" Lily snarled at them as the bell rang and students began to stand, grabbing for their bags and half sprinting out of the classroom. Professor Binns blinked mistily at them, then floated through the blackboard. "I'll make you regret it if you prank them!"

In the rush to get to the door, none of them heard. Lily scowled, then prodded Marlene.

"Wake up," she said shortly. Marlene snorted, then raised her head blearily.

"Wha-?" she said confusedly. Lily rolled her eyes and began to shove her books into her bag.

"It's lunch. Come _on._"

Lily managed to drag a protesting Marlene down to the Great Hall. She slumped into a seat, poking dully at her fried tomatoes.

"Have you seen Mary recently?" Lily asked suddenly, looking around as if to see Mary leaping out from behind one of the many chattering students. Marlene shrugged, more interested in her food.

"Haven't seen her all day…" she said, shoveling toast in her mouth.

* * *

It was a cold part of the dungeons, Mary thought. Water dripped from somewhere invisible, splattering her expensive shoes. They were ruined, she had no doubt, but Mary was not especially concerned with such trivial things.

Mary shivered with cold and fear. Far above her, chains clinked against the slimy walls. Her back was pressed to the wall, and she could feel things she didn't want to think about soaking into her robes. She stared fearfully into the darkness, shivering as a cold wind gusted past. Something wet and furry ran over her leg and she squealed loudly. The sound echoed around the damp dungeon, and there was a hoarse chuckle from the corner.

"Please," Mary whispered, her voice breaking in fear. "Please… just let me go…"

"That'll never happen, sweety," said the rough voice. Somewhere a light flared, and Mary bit back a scream as Mulciber's brutish face flickered into view. He leered at her, exposing teeth that seemed sharper than average. He ran his tongue around his lips, eyeing her with a smirk.

She was shaking, and distantly she could feel hot tears running down her face. Something wet and slimy oozed across her arm and she whimpered, throwing herself against the even slimier wall. Somewhere above her head, the manacles Mulciber insisted on using clanked against the wall. Her arms were on fire from being raised so far above her head. Tears coursed down her face rapidly.

"Please," she pleaded in a voice breaking with fear.

Mulciber just grinned at her from the shadows. "Not gonna happen."

Mary cried harder than ever, raising her eyes to the small amount of light shining in and praying for someone to come. But as Mulciber drew closer, smirking at her in a rather suggestive way, no one did.

No one helped her even when she screamed.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: This really wasn't the direction I planned for this, but it just… went there. Not sure how that happened, but I hope it's not too bad. Thank for reading, and I would **__**really **__**love reviews!**_


	20. Found

_**Author's Notes: Again, it's a bit late and I'm really sorry for that. I'm trying to update every three days, but things keep happening to stop it. This time, my computer kept shutting down when I tried to write. Sorry. Thank you **__**so**__** much for the reviews, every time I read one it makes me want to write more. Again, thank you!**_

* * *

By lunch, Lily and Marlene were frantic with worry.

"She's not at classes, lunch, the girls' dormitory, or the loo," Marlene said, ticking off the places on her fingers and throwing her arms up in dismay. "Where could she be?"

"I don't know," Lily groaned, darting her head around so fast she was surprised she didn't have whiplash yet. She darted across the hall and caught the arm of a girl with blonde hair. "Mary? Mary! Oh… sorry, I thought you were someone else…"

Lily rejoined Marlene as they stood at the door to the Great Hall, scanning the room for any sign of Mary.

"Maybe she's in the infirmary," Marlene said after a moment of unsuccessful searching. Lily grabbed the arm of another girl and spun her around, then darted after another blonde.

"Mary!" she called. "Mary!"

"Lily, let's look for Mary in the Hospital Wing," Marlene said, following Lily as she hurried down the table, peering searchingly at every girl.

"You do that," Lily said, checking under the table as if expecting Mary to be hiding there. "I'll keep looking here."

"Lily, face it, you've been calling for her and she hasn't come. She isn't here!" Marlene said with increasing anger as Lily hurried toward the Ravenclaw table in vain search of Mary.

"Is there a problem, girls?" a mild voice asked. Marlene turned to see their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Vane, looking at her inquisitively.

"Have you seen a blonde girl about… this tall?" Marlene asked hopefully, holding up a hand at eyelevel. The professor shook his head and Marlene swore under her breath before chasing after Lily, who was causing a disturbance at the Slytherin table by grabbing every girl with blonde hair.

"Sev!" Lily was begging tearfully as Marlene approached. Snape was standing in front of her, squirming uncomfortably and looking as if he'd rather be anywhere but here. "Please, Sev, have you seen Mary?"

Snape shrugged rather than replied and tried to move away only to find his way blocked by Marlene, whose arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"Well, 'Sev'?" she said coolly. "_Have_ you seen Mary?"

He looked extremely discomfited. "No," he muttered and tried to squeeze past her. Marlene moved into his way once again.

"Get out of my way," he snarled, hand pulling out his wand. He discreetly checked for Lily, who was peering under the table, then focused his glare on Marlene, who had her hand on her wand. "I haven't seen your friend," he snapped, then shoved past her. She watched him go, gaze stony.

"Mary!" Lily called, now trying to crawl under the table. Marlene, feeling quite odd now that she was the sensible one, dragged her out and pulled her to the Head's table.

"Come on," Marlene muttered. "We can ask McGonagall if she's seen her."

Lily stopped struggling, though she still scanned the Great Hall hopefully.

"Professor!" Marlene said, still pulling Lily behind her. "Professor, have you seen Mary MacDonald?"

"No," said the older woman, looking surprised as Marlene dragged Lily in front of her. "And once you find her, tell her that she has detention. She's missed every class so far."

"Right," replied Marlene, charging off to the doors. Lily bobbed behind her, still calling for Mary. "Lily, stop! She's not here!"

"Mary!" Lily called once more, then she focused her glare on Marlene. "I don't see you looking for her," she hissed.

"Well maybe you should open your eyes," Marlene snapped back. "Because I'm being a great deal more helpful than you! You're just annoying everyone with blonde hair – you even pulled that blond boy out of Charms because you thought he was Mary."

Lily started to reply, looking furious, but a jovial voice interrupted her.

"Arguing over me, ladies?"

They both turned to see Sirius, smirking at them both. Remus skulked by him, looking quite discomfited.

"No!" they both snapped as one. He took a step back, eyes widening.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. His eyes followed someone over their shoulder and he roughly elbowed Remus. "Snivellous," he hissed, pulling out his wand.

Remus tenderly massaged his ribs. "You can't start a fight in the middle of the Great Hall," he said, looking quite worried that Sirius would actually try.

"Oh really?" Sirius said, and aimed his wand at Snape, who had just stood up to leave. There was a loud bang and Lily dived to the side, rapidly followed by Marlene.

"Run!" yelled Lily, ducking as a responding jinx from Snape barely missed her. Students were scattering, screaming loudly. Professor McGonagall was trying to restore order but with little success. Most of the Slytherins had joined in on the fight and the Gryffindors gladly leapt in to fight their hated rivals.

There was a loud crash and the Hufflepuff's table began to float in the air, several Hufflepuffs still sitting on it. They screamed loudly as the table flew toward the Gryffindors and students scattered everywhere as it crashed into the wall. Lily and Marlene were crawling as fast as possible toward the door as wood flew everywhere.

"Run!" Lily shouted again as a chair hovered perilously close to them. Sirius, who was laughing and aiming curses at everyone he could reach, didn't notice it under it hit the floor feet away. Lily climbed to her feet then sprinted for the door, Marlene hot on her heels. They ran for the marble staircase, the screams and shouts dying behind them.

"Hospital Wing," Lily panted, taking several steps at a time. Marlene chanced a glance behind her to see the fight spill out into the Entrance Hall. Suddenly, the sound of shouted curses and flying spells was replaced with screams of fear. Peeves was cackling joyfully as he tossed tarantulas onto the writhing mass below him. Students were piling desperately through the doors and trampling others in their haste.

Marlene realised she had stopped dead, watching. She looked back to the staircase to see Lily's red hair whipping around the corner. She cursed and sprinted up the stairs. The sounds of mayhem and terror faded behind her as she hurried after Lily.

She found Lily a moment later, staring blankly into the Hospital Wing. All the beds were empty and Madam Pomfrey was humming quietly as she cleaned up and straightened the sheets. Mary wasn't there.

Marlene forced down the feeling of dread and tried weakly to smile.

"Well, maybe she's outside… flying…" she offered halfheartedly. Lily turned an increasingly panicked gaze on her.

"She's not here. She's not here. I really thought she would be here…" she said. "She doesn't fly. You know she doesn't. She wouldn't skive off all those classes. She's gone," her breath was coming faster and faster as she spoke.

"What if she's hurt? What if we can't find her? What if she's…" Lily trailed off and her eyes widened in horror. "Marlene, how are we going to find her?"

Marlene took a deep breath and attempted to quell the panic that was rising rapidly. "Maybe… maybe she snuck off to Hogsmeade."

Lily shook her head, hands clenched by her sides. "She wouldn't do that. She would try to convince us to come and I would tell her no and you would say yes and I'd stop you both… Oh _Merlin_…" she sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself as if in an attempt to stop herself from shaking.

Marlene squatted down beside her, thinking furiously for somewhere that Mary might have gone. A few minutes later and she was forced to concede defeat.

"I bet she's safe somewhere…" she said in a vain attempt to calm Lily. "I bet she would be just laughing at us… we're getting so worried. She's safe… I know it."

* * *

"Again?" Mulciber said, leering through the gloom at her. He raised his wand and her sobs renewed.

"No! No, no…" Mary hiccoughed, limbs shaking with pain.

"What was that?" he asked, cupping a hand around his ear and grinning at her attempts to get free of the manacles. He took a step closer, pointing his wand at various parts of her and trying to decide which would hurt most. He took one more step and kicked at her lightly. "I didn't hear what you said… could you repeat that?"

She was silent, head bowed. She looked as though she were internally debating something.

"Don't ignore me, you Mudblood!" he roared, suddenly in a sour temper. She raised her hand and managed a little smile. "Don't you give me that insolent little smirk or I'll call Bellatrix here just to torture you herself!"

Mary managed to pull herself off the ground slightly. She muttered something at him.

"What was that?" he snarled. She shook her head and mouthed something at him. He leaned closer to hear her, which was just what she expected. In a movement too sudden for him to react to, she lunged forward and slammed her knee into his stomach, in the same movement biting him as hard as she possibly could.

For a moment, he was frozen, mouth open in an absurd expression of shock. Then he fell onto his side, screaming in pain. She aimed kicks at him that were weak but powered with her pain and anger.

She laughed wildly, managing to hit his nose with one of her wilder kicks. There was a small crack and a fountain of blood began to rush down his face. He screeched in pain and clutched at his face, managing to roll out of her reach as he did. She fell suddenly silent, blue eyes widening. She hadn't quite planned what to do after he recovered.

He managed to pull himself to his feet, panting in pain and clutching his nose. Blood dripped through his fingers, falling to the ground. The dripping noise seemed inordinately loud in the sudden silence. He eyed her, and she did the same to him.

"Filthy Mudblood," he grunted. "I was being lenient, but I see you like to play rough…"

Mary cringed into the slimy stone as he pulled out his wand, but she remained silent, now determined not to give him the satisfaction of her screams.

His smirk as he pointed his wand at her face and leaned closer was one that would stay in her nightmares.

* * *

A few minutes later and Lily was about ready to begin sobbing. They had looked everywhere.

The girls' dormitory, all the classrooms, every secret passage they knew about – which wasn't many, admittedly -, the Great Hall again, the Hospital Wing, the girls' toilets – even the boys' toilets. Mary was nowhere to be seen.

"Where could she be?" Marlene mumbled for what must have been the hundredth time. Lily shook her head mutely, face scrunched in an effort to think, but the image of Mary lying somewhere, horribly injured, kept pervading her thoughts and making it impossible.

"This is useless!" she shouted suddenly, aiming a kick at the wall. The sudden pain in her foot only added to her anger. "She's _gone!"_

"No, she's not," Marlene said in a tone of forced calm. "She's somewhere in the castle. We need to calm down and think-"

"_Think_? When do you ever think? It's always 'Lily, what's the answer?' or 'Lily, write this twenty page essay for me!'" Lily shouted. Marlene flinched slightly, but remained stoic. "You never think! _I _think! You – you're _you_. I'm the thinker! And – I can't – she's _gone."_

Marlene's eyes were narrowed into slits and she stood up and marched over to Lily. "Well, if little Miss Prefect would just pull her head out of-"

Someone whistled appreciatively and both girls whirled to see James, leaning against the wall and looking infuriatingly calm and amused. "_Wow_," he said. "I've never seen you fight like that. And Marlene?"

"What?" she snapped. He winked at her.

"The Prefect part is _my _insult."

Marlene took a step toward him, fists raised, but Lily leapt between them.

"James!" she said excitedly, green eyes wide and pleading. Marlene nearly snorted as she saw James' attention immediately divert to her. He focused on her and ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"Yes, Lily?" he asked, grinning at her suggestively, and running an appreciative eye up and down her body. She was too excited to reprimand him.

"Have you seen Mary? I know you must be really knowledgeable about secret passages because you never get caught while pranking people!" Lily said, eyes hopefully fixed on James'.

_She's really laying it on thick, _Marlene thought sardonically. James smirked broadly and immediately straightened slightly, running his hand through his hair again.

"Why yes, Lily, I am _very_ knowledgeable about secret passageways… and I can definitely find Mary."

"You can?"

This time, both Lily and Marlene's full attention was focused on him. Marlene launched herself forward to shove her face in front of his. He blinked and tried to step back, but her glare kept him in place.

"If you can find her, do it _now,_" she said through gritted teeth, not allowing the burgeoning hope in her chest to take root.

He blinked again, rather nervously, and raised his hands.

"Okay!" he said. "I'll do it! Just give me a minute; I need to get something from my bag."

"Make it fast," Marlene said, watching him beadily as he sped away, looking uneasy.

"That's wonderful!" Lily cheered. "We can find Mary!"

"She'd better be either horribly injured or honestly unable to come," Marlene said, slumping against the wall. "Or I will kill her."

Lily shivered suddenly. "She's fine," she said, more to herself than anything. "She's _fine."_

* * *

By the time her screams had died down, the sounds ringing off the walls, Mulciber had already started again and she arched back against the wall, trying to hold in the screaming. Finally the pain proved too much and she let out a shrill wail. He was laughing, she realised dimly through the fog of pain.

"M-monster," she panted through a mouth full of blood. Her tongue stung painfully as she spat out some blood. He leapt out of the way as she suddenly lunged forward, aiming for him again. His mocking laughter rang in her ears as she spat at his expensive shoes and missed.

"Cru-"

Mary managed to sweep one of her legs around and hook it around his ankle, bringing him crashing to the floor. The look of shocked surprise before he fell made it worth any pain, she thought, smirking vindictively at him as he pulled himself to his feet. He swore at her angrily and raised his wand.

"Crucio!"

Mary threw herself as hard as she possible could to the side. Her arms screamed in agony and the manacles fastened to the wall gave a funny creak, but the jet of red light missed her and she managed to enjoy one more blessedly pain free moment. She grinned at him as he snarled and spat out the curse again.

This time she couldn't dodge it and it hit her in the side. She crumpled, gasping, eyes streaming with tears. She would have fallen onto her side had it not been for the manacles. They gave another strange squeaking noise as she slumped over. Her arms were on fire and tears were dripping down her long nose. She stared at the moss-covered floor, unable to raise her head. It felt as if all her muscles had turned to jelly.

"My friends will find you," she managed to gasp out. "E-even if I don't g-get out of here, they'll know…"

Mulciber opened his mouth to reply furiously but before he could, the door opened with a small creak and a cloaked figure stepped in.

"Having fun?" the person asked in a dry voice that seemed strangely familiar to Mary. After a moment of thought, she dismissed it. The pain must be addling her mind.

"Of course," Mulciber snapped. The girl stepped closer to him and seemed to be examining his face.

"Then why are you covered in blood?"

"It's hers," he grunted, glaring at her over the other girl's shoulder. The cloaked girl turned to look at her.

"I see no blood," she said coolly. "And Mulciber, don't you think it's rude to not allow anyone else a turn? I was the one that captured her, I'm the one who needs to do this to be accepted; I think I should be allowed to do it for a moment."

"Fine," Mulciber grumbled after a moment, stepping back and stomping over to the door. "Don't get too close to her," he added over his shoulder, wrenching the door open. The girl laughed contemptuously.

"Don't worry. We don't all have rocks for brains like you."

He slammed the door behind him and the cloaked girl turned to face Mary, laughing slightly.

"You're lucky I'm not Bellatrix," she said before raising her wand. Mary could only close her eyes and wait.

* * *

Lily was about ready to feed James his own intestines, and she wasted no time informing him so. For ten minutes they had been wandering around a specific spot, an abandoned corridor on the fifth floor.

"I don't understand it," James muttered, examining the odd bit of parchment in his hand once again. The few times Lily had attempted to see what was on the parchment, he had snapped it shut and gave her that infernal little smirk. "She should be here…"

"Well, she's not," snapped Lily. "I should have known not to trust you, Potter, but it's a new low for you to lead us around when Mary might be hurt."

James ignored her, examining the map more closely and muttering. She strained to listen, but only caught occasional murmurs.

"Don't think… can't be… surely not… Mulciber… gone now…"

"What are you muttering about?" exploded Lily after a moment. James held up a hand, still inspecting it closely. Lily swelled with fury. "Potter, I thought you had been maturing a bit, but I see I was wrong!"

James was whispering very fast under his breath, then he suddenly stopped and stood frozen. "Oh no," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Lily demanded. His response nearly stopped her heart.

"She's in the dungeons. With Mulciber."

For a frozen moment, no one moved. Then Lily exploded.

"Let's go!" she shouted, grabbing James by the elbow and dragging him off. Marlene followed, pulling her wand out.

"I'll kill him," Marlene said icily. "If she's hurt, I'll kill him."

Lily's only response was to drag James even faster.

* * *

Mary watched dully, panting and shaking, as the cloaked girl swept out of the room to be replaced by a leering Mulciber.

"Oh," she said upon seeing him. "Hello again, Mister Rocks-for-brains."

His leer was replaced by an ugly scowl and he raised his arm to point his wand at her. Mary braced herself.

"We were considering just Obliviating you and letting you go, since shetortured a Mudblood, just as she was asked," he said, staring at her. "But with your rudeness… I don't think so," he said softly, eyes focused on hers. She was shaking slightly but she forced a smile.

"Oh well," she said lightly. "At least they'll know who it was."

"Not likely," he grinned. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Had her mouth not been frozen shut, Mary would have mocked him for going with a spell that even first-years knew. But she couldn't move, even when he squatted down next to her. His eyes were still focused on her as he raised his wand. There was a rattling sound and the manacles fell to the ground. Mary keeled over, face grinding into the slimy ground. Moss was pressed to her cheek and one eye was forced into what she hoped was only dirt.

Mulciber chuckled. "Not so mouthy now, are we?" he said, patting her on the head as if she were a dog. She would have loved to roll over and kick him, but she couldn't. He laughed, the grinding sound making Mary wish even more to kick him.

The spell, weak as it was, was already beginning to fade away. She could vaguely feel her fingers and she felt them twitch slightly, but that seemed to be the extent of her abilities. She focused, ignoring Mulciber, on moving her fingers. Nothing happened. Mary could have cried from exasperation.

Mulciber's fingers, which had been stroking her hair, suddenly tightened. He yanked her head up and her eyes watered at the pain.

"You're not listening to me," he said. She stared frozenly at him and he dropped her head in disgust. "Stupid Mudblood girl… Well, I suppose now that we don't need to worry about keeping you alive…" he trailed off suggestively. "I have a few curses I've wanted to try out," he said, grinning at her.

Through the one eye not grinding into the ground, she saw him begin to pace around the room.

"What should I start with…. There's one that turns you inside out, should we try that one? Or maybe the Entrail-Expelling one… did you know that was designed by one of my ancestors?"

Though half of her just wanted him to shut up, the other half was silently urging him on.

"Well…" he said after a moment of contemplation. "Let's start experimenting, shall we?"

* * *

Lily heard it before the others: agonized, horrible, tortured screams.

"Mary," she whispered, her face draining of colour. The screams were high and echoed around the corridor outside the room.

Marlene gave a snarl and yanked her wand out. James and Lily exchanged a wordless glance before Lily flicked her wand. The door burst open and the three of them charged forward, curses on their lips. What they found, however, defied expectations.

Mulciber was on the ground, Mary standing over him. She was furiously kicking him while pointing a long wand at him.

"_This,_" she hissed, driving a kick into his ribs. He let out a muffled groan of pain. "Is – why – you _– don't _– monologue – to – your - victims!" With each word, she kicked him harder and harder until he let out another high-pitched scream.

Lily, Marlene, and James stood frozen in shock as they stared at Mary, who was now grinding Mulciber's face into the filthy ground.

"Oh, hello," she said, smiling weakly at them. There were dried tears streaking down her face. Her clothes were wet and ripped. There was dirt smudging her face and her lips was bleeding heavily.

Lily had never seen anything more wonderful in her life.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Probably not that good, but I tried. Sorry. I really would love reviews, if it's possible for you. Thank you so much!**_


	21. Shadows

_**Author's Notes: To everyone: thank you so much for the reviews! I am so sorry that it took so long for me to update, I've been absolutely **__**swamped**__** in schoolwork and other things. Sorry! Again, thank you so much!**_

* * *

As the four students hurried down the abandoned corridors, Mulciber floating after them, it soon became obvious that Mary wasn't as well as she seemed. She was limping ahead of the others, her wand trained on the unconscious Mulciber, who floated through the air and frequently hit his head on the ceiling, when she swayed and collapsed.

"Mary!" Lily said, rushing forward and kneeling by her side. Mary opened her eyes blearily and winced.

"M'fine," she muttered, trying to pull herself to her feet. She swayed again and fell back to the ground where she lay, staring at the ceiling and coughing weakly.

"Here," said James helpfully, attempting to pick her up. She slapped weakly at him and pulled away. He backed off, looking worried.

"I'm fine," she insisted, pulling herself to her feet. Lily eyed her doubtfully.

"Mary… you need to go to the hospital wi-"

"No!" Mary said sharply. "I'm going to bring Mulciber to Professor McGonagall and get him expelled for good," she said determinedly. Lily frowned, but followed her wordlessly as the other girl set off again. Marlene shrugged at Lily, following Mary as she hurried toward Professor McGonagall's office.

"Oooh!" cackled a malicious voice from somewhere overhead. The four of them instinctually ducked at the familiar voice and Peeves, who was doing flips in midair, let out a mischievous laugh and dived at them. Lily ducked out of the way as he rattled the suit of armor behind them and let out another cackling laugh.

"Attacking other students, are we?" he said, peering at the unconscious Mulciber from between his legs. "Perhaps I should call Filch-"

"No, Peeves," James said. "Come on, why don't you go dump some ink on first years again?"

Peeves seemed to consider it. He dived at them one last time, slammed into the suit of armor and knocked it to the ground with a ringing clang, then flew off, knocking down suits of armor as he went.

"Well, I think that went rather well," said James, staring off after Peeves. "I thi-"

"Mister Potter! What _exactly _do you think you're doing?"

Professor McGonagall had burst out of her office, tartan robes swishing around her. Her hair was half out of its normally strict bun. Her tartan slippers were half off as she ran into the corridor. Her eyes traveled from the fallen suits of armor to the guilty looking students. Her eyes narrowed.

James turned with a guilty grin, automatically raising his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to, Professor," he said instantly before his brain caught up with his mouth. "I mean, I didn't do anything – er… Mary needs you!" he said, pointing at her to divert her attention.

Professor McGonagall transferred her glare to Mary, then her eyes widened in shock.

"Is that – that-" she began to splutter, her mouth open with shock. A bit of drool dripped from Mulciber's open mouth as he snored in midair, toes barely brushing the ground. Mary gave him a poisonous glare and coughed again, shivering in her damp robes.

"He attacked me," she said. Professor McGonagall's wide eyes took in her slime-covered hair, mold coated and slimy robes, dirty face, and bruises.

"Come in to my office," she said finally. The four of them trooped in after her as she pulled open a door and strode in. Mulciber floated after them, his head hitting the top of the door carelessly. Professor McGonagall raised her wand and flicked it. Four chairs appeared in midair, revolved for a moment, then hit the ground with a thump.

"Sit," she said, pointing at them. She settled behind her desk and stared at them. Feeling more conscious than ever of her mussed hair and disheveled appearance, Lily took a seat next to Mary and Marlene. James settled for the chair on the end of the row, looking rather put out that he couldn't sit next to Lily. Mulciber snored loudly; the ratcheting sound echoed around the silent office.

"Explain," Professor McGonagall said simply, her gaze traveling from face to guilty face. The four of them exchanged looks but remained silent. How would they explain the situation?

As mature sixteen year olds, they of course settled for the reasonable, intelligent way of discourse.

All four of them burst into speech at once, yelling to be heard over each other.

"And he kidnapped her-"

"-Cruciatus curse-"

"-Found her in the dungeons-"

"-He should be expelled!"

"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall barked, holding up her hands for silence. They fell quiet, eyeing her. "Now, Miss Macdonald, would you please explain _slowly?_"

They had the good sense to look ashamed. Lily blushed and lowered her head, picking at a frayed string on her robes while Mary began to speak.

"And he thought I was frozen and unchained me and the spell wore off… they got there just a minute later and we froze him. I levitated him and… and we thought it would be best to bring him to you," Mary finished lamely.

Professor McGonagall stared at her, for once speechless. The firelight flashed off her spectacles as she stared, mouth slightly open.

"Nice, Mary!" James said, grinning at her. "We've only managed to stun her so much she couldn't talk twice!"

"Be quiet, Mister Potter. I'm not deaf," Professor McGonagall said, but without her normal level of brusqueness. Her eyes traveled from Mary's earnest face to Mulciber, who still snored loudly.

"This is a matter for the Headmaster," she said, almost to herself. Lily, who had remained silent the whole time, spoke up.

"Professor, will he be expelled?" she asked hopefully. She felt Mary stiffen by her side, but she didn't allow her gaze to leave Professor McGonagall's face. The old Professor considered it for a moment.

"He will," she said grimly, standing and pointing her wand at Mulciber. "And he'll be put in front of the Wizengamot if I can manage it."

Mary managed a little smile as Professor McGonagall swept from the room, Mulciber floating slowly after her.

"Well," she started, standing unsteadily and shaking. "I think I need to change my robes and maybe go to the Great Hall for lunch."

Marlene and Lily exchanged uncertain glances as Mary tottered for the door.

"Mary," Lily started gently. "Lunch has been over for…" she consulted her watch. "Hours, now. I think even dinner is done."

"What?" Mary yelped, face horrorstruck. "I'm so hungry…" she said sadly, clutching at her stomach and looking as wispy as she could. "I think I'll fade away if I don't get any food…" she whined.

Lily winced. "Oh Mary, I'm really sorry… I wish I could help you."

There was a short silence in which Mary looked miserable and hungry and Lily thoughtful. Then James spoke up.

"I can help you," he said. Mary turned to him so quickly she cricked her neck. Rubbing it gingerly, she gazed at him hopefully.

"You can?"

James hesitated for a moment, looking as though some painful internal conflict was going on inside him. After a moment, he smiled slightly.

"Of course, Mary," he said, opening the door gallantly and holding it for Mary, but she didn't make any move to go out. Instead she launched herself at James and clung to his arm.

"Thank you, James, thank you!" she said delightedly, clinging to him as he reeled back in shock. Lily giggled slightly.

"Mary, I think you're cutting off circulation to his arm," she said gently, attempting to pry Mary from James' arm. She released it after a second and stared adoringly up at James, who looked very relieved to have his arm back. He smiled down at her and Lily felt a stab of something like annoyance as he bowed to Mary.

"Ladies first," he said.

* * *

Lily watched Mary as she stuffed what was most likely the sixteenth plate of bacon in her mouth.

"'Ank oo," she said once again to James, who was watching her with an expression of awe as she shoveled food into her mouth. He looked bewildered as he attempted to decipher what she said. Lily took pity on him as his face contorted in confusion.

"She said thank you," Lily informed him. His face cleared and he grinned at Mary, who was downing a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"No problem!" he said cheerily. A tiny house elf bobbed up to him and offered him some eggs. "Thanks, Blinky," he said, accepting the plate and digging in with gusto.

"This is really amazing," Marlene spoke up, wandering around the kitchens. The house elves bobbed around her, offering her every kind of food she could imagine. She waved them off and examined a stove with interest.

"Yeah, it is," said Lily, watching Mary stuff a bit of roast in her mouth with disgusted amazement. "I can't believe I never even thought about where the food came from… how did you ever find this?"

To her amazement, James flushed slightly, his cheeks tinted dark red.

"Er…" he said, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"What?" Lily asked curiously. He looked down.

"I'd prefer not to say," he said uncomfortably. Lily stored away the information for later use and looked away.

"Okay," she said easily. He looked surprised.

"Really? You aren't going to try to force feed me Veritaserum?" he asked her. She smiled mischievously.

"You might want to check your pumpkin juice for a while," she said, smiling at him. He grinned weakly, looking as though he wasn't sure to believe her or not. To buy himself time to think, he once again ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.

"Thanks for showing us this place," she said after a moment. He grinned.

"I couldn't deny a lady in need!" he said, puffing out his chest and winking at Mary. She giggled, spraying Lily with a bit of food. Lily watched the two of them, the strange and slightly annoyed feeling growing as James winked at her once again.

"Well, I think you'll explode if you eat anymore," she said in an attempt to divert their attentions away from each other. It worked. Mary looked over at her, looking disappointed.

"I was just getting started!" she whined, waving a piece of kipper at Lily. Lily shook her head stubbornly and stood, beginning to pull Mary from her seat as well. She resisted for a moment, pouting childishly, then finally heaved herself to her feet.

"Fine," she said grumpily, snagging a plate of Yorkshire pudding as Lily pulled her toward the door.

"Thanks, James," Mary called over her shoulder as Lily yanked her out the door. Marlene followed her, waving an unenthusiastic goodbye to James as she followed the two girls.

"Bye," he said, watching them go. There was a shout and several giggles. The Yorkshire pudding Mary had attempted to steal came flying back through the door and shattered on the ground. There was utter silence for a moment, then the sound of running feet as the giggling girls sprinted off.

James shook his head in amusement and stood to follow them, pulling the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and examining it. A little dot labeled 'Filch' was patrolling the seventh floor and Mrs. Norris was sniffing at a tapestry on the first floor. He smiled and stuffed the map back into his robes and with his hands deep in his pockets, he strolled out of the kitchen, unaware of the eyes following his every movement.

* * *

Mary was weaving back and forth as she tottered up the corridor and waving a bit of bacon as she spoke.

"And then," she said, nearly tripping over thin air. "Clarice said to… hmm… what _did_ she say?" she considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "Oh, my head's pounding too much to remember."

"Mary," Lily spoke up, watching her friend with concern as she attempted to walk into a tapestry hung on the wall. The trolls in the parchment looked up from the hapless man they were beating to a pulp and lumbered over to snuffle at them, little ears wiggling. "Mary, are you okay?"

"Me?" Mary asked, walking a bit more steadily as she started up a flight of stairs. "I'm fine! I feel really great, apart from my head. I feel perfectly fine-"

She swayed slightly and a peculiar expression crossed her face. She blinked once, then toppled.

"Mary!" Lily and Marlene shouted as one, both of them breaking into a sprint and running to Mary's side. Lily fell to her knees beside her.

"Mary! Are you okay? What's wrong?" she demanded frantically. Mary opened her eyes blearily and blinked slowly, staring at Lily in confusion.

"Don't bombard her with questions," Marlene snapped. Lily rounded on her and furiously opened her mouth to speak but-

"Don't fight," Mary muttered, pushing herself up and propping herself on her elbows. "I'm okay. I'm fine." She seemed to be attempting to convince herself of this. Lily and Marlene exchanged looks and pulled Mary to her feet.

"We need to go to the hospital wing," Lily said firmly. She shook her head. "We should have gone there before getting food. I should have made you go… it was stupid of me," she muttered. She looked at Mary carefully. "Can you walk?" she asked.

Mary considered it for a brief second, then nodded and took a step forward. Her legs wobbled slightly and Marlene lunged forward to grab her.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Marlene said briskly. "I'll get a stretcher…" she stabbed her wand through the air. Nothing happened. "Lily?" she said pleadingly. "A bit of help, please."

Though she knew it wasn't the best of times to nag, Lily couldn't resist. "It's less of a sharp jab, Marlene. You need to flick your wrist more," she informed Marlene, who rolled her eyes.

"I really don't care," Marlene said. Lily, feeling rather affronted, opened her mouth to sharply reply but Mary chose that moment to let out a weak groan and Lily's angry expression immediately turned to one of worry.

She flicked her wand through the air and the air shimmered. A stretcher dropped to the ground and Lily helped Marlene levitate a protesting Mary through the air onto it.

"This really isn't necessary," Mary complained as the stretcher began to float. "It's just that my legs are shaking a bit."

"Oh, shut it," Marlene said. "You need to go to the hospital – what was that?"

Lily whirled and stared into the darkness that Marlene was pointing at.

"What?" she demanded, looking around frantically.

"I don't know… That!" she shouted, pointing her wand into the shadows at the end of the corridor. Lily turned just in time to see something even darker than the shadows dart across the corridor.

"W-what is it?" Mary whispered. Lily had her wand trained at the end of the corridor, eyes flicking around.

"Show yourself!" Lily shouted, but with no real conviction. She had little doubt that whoever or whatever it was wouldn't come out.

"That's not going to work," Marlene hissed, wand darting around as she whipped her head around in search of the source of the movement.

"Maybe it was just Mrs. Norris," Mary said hopefully.

"Mrs. Norris isn't that dark," Marlene said instantly. Lily shot her a reproving look.

"It was probably just some snogging students running from us… I am a prefect, after all…" Lily said uncertainly. Mary shivered.

"Please, let's just go," she pleaded. Marlene glared into the darkness for another second, then turned, tucking her wand back in her robes.

"Fine," she muttered. "I hope you're right, Lily," she called to Lily.

Lily wasn't as fast to dismiss the thing, whatever it was. She searched the shadows one last time, keeping her wand ready. She backed after Mary and Marlene. With one last searching look, she turned around and jogged after them.

In the shadows, lips curled around sharp teeth in a terrible parody of a smile.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: I would love reviews **__**so**__** much. It would be wonderful if you could tell me what you think of this chapter. I'm not sure it's very good, I was half asleep when I wrote it. I realised how long it had been since I updated and scrambled to write it. **_

_**My keyboard's a bit dysfunctional, so if you spot any spelling errors or grammar errors, please tell me and I'll try to find the edit button and fix it.**_

_**Thank you!**_


	22. Full Moon

_**Author's Notes: Nothing interesting to say except that I would love it if you could review. Thank you!**_

* * *

James snored on his bed, dreams of Lily dancing through his mind. She was smiling at him and floating through the air toward him, face radiant and beautiful.

"James," she said in a soft voice as she approached him. She held her arms out to embrace him. "I love you, James."

He grinned at her and launched himself at her, not caring that the real Lily would have ripped his liver out had he tried it. She smiled up at him and leaned into his embrace, face tilted toward him. They were getting closer and closer… her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted… then-

"Wake up!" she suddenly shouted, raising her hand and whacking him over the head.

"OW! Lily, what the-"

"Get your lazy arse up!" she snarled in a voice much deeper than was usual. She hit him over the head again and he stumbled back, raising his arms defensively.

"Lily, what's-"

"Get up!" shouted the voice again. James groaned and rolled over, hand thrown up to shield his eyes from the blinding light coming in from the window.

"Wake up, Prongs!" the voice yelled again, hitting him over the head with a pillow.

"Owww…" James whined, rolling over and squinting upwards. "Sod off, Padfoot," he grunted and buried his head in his pillow again, hoping to return to his pleasant dreams. No such luck.

Sirius hit him over the head again.

"Wake up, Prongs, or I'm going to summon Lily here and tell her that it was you that stole her pants and hung them in the Great Hall."

"No," James moaned, eyes tightly clenched. "M'tired, Padfoot. G'way…"

"Not until you wake up," Sirius insisted. James finally opened his eyes. "Come on, James…" he lowered his voice and looked around as if expecting the whole of Gryffindor house to have their ears pressed to the window, though no one was around. "It's the full moon tonight," he mouthed at James. "We should probably start spreading rumors that Remus is sick and needs to go home again."

James groaned and finally sat up, knuckling his eyes. "Okay, fine," he muttered, pawing through a stack of neatly folded robes in search of something clean. He yanked it on, grabbed his bag of books, consulted his schedule, and swaggered out the door, Sirius hot on his heels.

The Great Hall was packed when he arrived; the Ravenclaw table was particularly boisterous. A boy was making wild gestures while the rest of his housemates roared with laughter. The Slytherins were laughing loudly and a few girls at Hufflepuff were throwing food at each other. James managed to snag a seat next to Lily, who was engrossed in the _Daily Prophet._

She glanced over at him as he sat, eyebrow raised curiously.

"You look exhausted," she observed, discreetly scooting away from him. He grunted in reply, then remembered.

"Oh… yeah, I'm just worried for Remus. He's not feeling too well and we think he might have to go home for a bit… his mum's really ill too. And his uncle died. And his grandmother died too. And his cat died as well," he threw in for good measure.

"Oh no," said Lily, looking concerned. "That's awful. I hope his mother gets better soon."

"We all do," James muttered, pulling a plate. She returned to her newspaper, though watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"You don't look too good yourself. Maybe you should go to Madam Pomfrey," she said, giving a worried look around the Great Hall. Whatever she was looking for, she found. Her eyes narrowed and an expression of pure hate crossed her face, so fast he wasn't even sure it had happened. James gave her a curious look, but didn't respond. She flicked the newspaper shut and stood, draining the last bit of pumpkin juice from her goblet.

"Bye," she said in an offhand way, walking off. He watched her go, red hair swinging behind her. He sighed slightly. Peter dropped into the seat next to him.

"I can't believe it," he muttered, grabbing a goblet and draining it in one go, looking thoroughly unhappy.

"What?" Sirius asked interestedly, peering around James to look at Peter. Peter nodded toward the Slytherin table.

"Mulciber," he said. It was enough. James' head snapped around and he glared at the table.

"He's still there," James hissed, pulling his wand from his robes and beginning to stand. Peter pulled him back down, then grabbed Sirius, who was about to launch himself across the room and attack the laughing boy at the Slytherin table. Mulciber glanced over at them and a nasty smile curled the corners of his thin lips.

"That filthy Death Eater lover," Sirius said softly, struggling to pull free of Peter, who was trying as best he could to restrain Sirius. There was a look on Sirius' face James hadn't seen for a while. It was a cold, terrible expression that worried James.

"Why is _he_ still here?" James said, glaring dangerously at Mulciber, who smiled across the room at him and inclined his head. Mary entered the room, chattering idly to Marlene, who was gesturing wildly, and Mulciber grinned in a sickly way. He drew his finger across his throat and nodded at Mary. Sirius snapped.

"You son of a-"

"Sirius, no!" Peter shouted, but it was too late. Sirius ripped himself free from Peter and threw himself toward the Slytherin table, actually vaulting the Hufflepuff table while screaming students scattered. He leapt onto the Ravenclaw table and threw himself off, sprinting toward Mulciber, who had just begun to react, starting to pull his wand out.

Sirius got there first.

He seemed to have forgotten magic, he had forgotten that he was in the middle of the Great Hall and teachers everywhere were hurrying toward him. He had forgotten everything in that moment as he drew back his fist and slammed in into Mulciber's face. The other boy fell backward; toppling from the table and Sirius went flying after him, shouting incoherently as he punched every inch of Mulciber he could reach.

"Sirius!" shouted James, sprinting across the hall and vaulting over the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, ignoring the screaming students throwing themselves out of his way. He grabbed Sirius' arm just as the other boy pulled his fist back to punch Mulciber again. The brutish Slytherin was unconscious already, a thin trickle of blood sliding down his face.

"Let go of me!" Sirius shouted, whirling on James and trying without success to pull free.

"MISTER BLACK!"

Both boys turned unwillingly to see Professor McGonagall hurrying toward them, eyes flashing with rage.

"How dare you!" she shouted, actually shaking her finger at them as she hoisted up her robes and stepped over a groaning student lying on the ground. "My office this instant!"

Grudgingly, furiously both boys turned around and walked out of the Great Hall, shoulders hunched silently and stubbornly refusing to utter a single word. Sirius looked rather sulky.

James sneaked glances at Sirius out of the corner of his eyes as they walked the far too familiar path to Professor McGonagall. Sirius's face was set and angry, mouth clamped shut.

"What was that about?" he hissed. "That wasn't just about Mulciber…" he watched Sirius closely, but the other boy looked cold and stoic. "You shouldn't have done that," James ventured. Sirius's face didn't change at all. "But that was awesome!" he held up a hand but Sirius scowled and walked even faster, soon passing James. Frowning, James followed him. After a few silent moments, they finally arrived at the Deputy Headmistress's office.

James and Sirius stared at the door, then at each other. James offered a half shrug and reached out, but Sirius suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Wait," he breathed. "We can't get detention tonight."

James cocked his head curiously. "Well, I know you loathe detentions just as much as I do but why-"

"It's the full moon, idiot!" Sirius hissed. They could hear footsteps behind them coming up the corridor. Sirius didn't stop to think. "Run!"

James hesitated for a half second, then sprinted after him. Before they rounded the corner he glanced back to see Professor McGonagall walking toward her office, looking furious. He increased his speed until he was level with Sirius.

"W-where are you g-going?" James panted, clutching a stitch in his side as they sprinted for Gryffindor Tower.

"Dunno," Sirius said, obviously preferring to conserve breath and concentrate on running. Deciding this was a good idea, James closed his mouth and ran.

* * *

Lily was sitting on Mary's bed, peering into a small mirror and holding a hand over one of her eyes. Finally she drew up the courage and slowly removed her hand. She instantly groaned. A spectacular black eye was blooming, standing out against her pale skin. Marlene clucked sympathetically.

"Oh, I'll kill him," Lily said, digging through the bed sheets for her wand. "Aha!" she said triumphantly, pulling out her wand and holding it aloft. She pressed the wand to her cheek and considered what spell she would try to use.

"Which boy are you going to kill?" asked Mary, lounging on her bed and stuffing some truffles that had just arrived into her mouth. Her pet cat, a scruffy tabby, gave a dignified meow from his perch on her desk and licked his fur, delicately stretching. She cooed at him and attempted to pet him with her chocolate covered fingers but he gave her such an evil look that she gave up.

"James, of course," Marlene said. Lily paused in her examination of her black eye.

"What? No, Sirius. James didn't do anything… for once…" she said, returning to staring at the mirror. She tapped her wand against her cheek thoughtfully, unaware of the thunderstruck looks on Mary and Marlene's faces.

"B-but," Marlene sputtered. "You _always_ blame James!"

"I do not!" Lily protested, giving up fixing her eye as a bad job and glaring at Marlene. "I don't!" she added at the skeptical looks on their faces. "I always assign the blame fairly," she said primly, raising her wand again and poking her eye lightly.

Mary gave an undignified snort, scaring her cat into jumping off the desk. He turned and shot her a dirty look, licked his fur once more, then hissed and dived onto Lily's bed, clawing his way up and sitting on her pillow, giving Mary an evil look with slitted yellow eyes.

"Remember when Peter accidently spilled some ink on your essay and you nearly threw James out the window?" Mary asked. Lily turned and gave her the dirtiest of looks.

"I thought that was behind us," she said, giving a little sniff and tapping her wand to her purple and black eye, muttering a spell. "I always-" but whatever she was about to say Mary and Marlene never heard, for the next second she let out the most horrendous, bloodcurdling scream any of them had ever heard and keeled over.

* * *

All over the castle, students paused in their work to gaze fearfully at Gryffindor tower before their teachers chivvied them back into work, though some still gave the tower worried looks.

* * *

A few minutes later, Lily was lying on her bed, staring into the mirror, occasionally touching her face with a look of awestruck horror, and looking thoroughly miserable. Mary and Marlene were standing on either side of her, faces averted though each of them occasionally sniggered slightly. Mary patted where she thought Lily's head might be in a comforting way as the other girl sniffed sulkily and stared into the mirror.

"Haha… I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can fix you…heh…" Marlene risked a glance at Lily and promptly dissolved in laughter. Lily pouted as Marlene fell to the floor and pounded it with her fists, tears of laughter sliding down her face.

"It's not that funny!" she protested, pointing at Marlene threateningly. Mary snorted uncontrollably for a minute and had to turn away. "It's not!"

"Sorry Lily, but you look ridiculous," Mary said. Lily let out a little whine and stared at her outstretched arm. It was true, she had to admit, but it didn't mean they should laugh at her! They were supposed to be her _friends._ Lily sulked and turned away, arms crossed over her chest.

Far from removing the black eye like it had been meant to, her hasty spell had spread the purplish bruise over every inch of skin. Her red hair clashed horribly with the ugly greenish purple and her eyes… well, the less said on that subject, the better. Lily looked like a plum.

Mary giggled loudly and Lily shot her an evil look.

"Well, since my so-called friends seem more content to laugh at me than to help, I guess I'll just have to go to Madam Pomfrey on my own… all alone… without anyone to hold my hand or to help me through the agonizing process…" Lily put on an expression so sad and forlorn that Mary looked quite sorry for her for a moment. Then Marlene giggled and both of them were rolling around on the floor, tears of laughter sliding down their faces.

Lily pouted sulkily and swung her legs over the side of her bed and standing up. She flounced out of the room, red hair swinging behind her. Mary and Marlene stopped laughing, hiccoughing, and glanced at each other for a few minutes, looking guilty… before promptly falling to the floor and exploding with laughter again.

* * *

Several hours later, she returned, face quite as red as her hair.

"Don't you dare laugh," she threatened her friends. They both immediately turned away, Marlene's face red with the strain of not laughing. Mary kept giggling silently as Lily strode toward the Great Hall, Mary on one side and Marlene on the other.

Their lunch was eaten in silence. Mary kept breaking into silent giggles and Marlene looked to be restraining her laughter for Lily's sake only. Lily felt rather putout with her friends, especially when Mary let out a squeal and bounced over to the Hufflepuff table to sit down with a nervous looking boy.

Lily stared.

"What's that about?" she asked Marlene, bewildered and watching Mary engulf the boy in a hug. He kissed her cheek and offered her a plate. Marlene looked over and wrinkled her nose as Mary speared a bit of food on her fork and held it out to the boy, an inviting look on her face.

"Oh… that's her _boyfriend_," she stressed the word and rolled her eyes. "Disgusting, aren't they?" she said conversationally, watching Mary lean over and kiss the boy.

"Boyfriend?" Lily repeated, feeling bewildered. Was she really so out of touch with her best friends that one could have a _boyfriend_ without her knowledge? Feeling distinctly confused, she did the only thing she could in a situation like this one. She voraciously attacked her food, inhaling it at a speed worthy of Mary.

"What are you doing, trying to choke yourself?" Marlene asked rhetorically, watching her. Lily rolled her eyes and wiped her mouth with a napkin, then leapt to her feet.

"Library," she called over her shoulder, hurrying off. Marlene watched her go, feeling increasingly abandoned by her friends.

* * *

The smell of the library was not one familiar to him; the smell of musty old books was as unpleasant as it was foreign. Dust flew up into his face as he explored a bit, prowling aimlessly through tall shelves. It was an old place, dusty carpets spread haphazardly around the cold room.

There was an odd noise as he rounded a shelf and he pawed a few books out of the way, careless of the way they fell to the floor, one ripping badly, and peered through it to see a girl with shoulder-length red hair, sucking absentmindedly on a quill as she flipped through an ancient and moldy book. Dust flew through the air as she turned the page and she sneezed again.

He smiled cruelly. Perfect…

* * *

Lily sat on one of the uncomfortable chairs in the library, flipping through a tattered and ancient book. The hard chair pressed uncomfortably into her back and she shifted slightly, though her gaze did not break from the spiky symbols in the book.

"Ehwaz means suffering… no, that's not right either…" she muttered, trailing her fingers down the page before quickly removing it. There was what looked horribly like vomit splashed on one page and a splattering of what she thought was blood on the other. She frowned and pulled out another book, banishing that one with a simple wave of her wand. She opened the new book easily, the crisp pages soothing under her fingertips. She inhaled deeply and smiled.

The aura of ancient and undisturbed magic coupling the smell of dust lent the library a very distinct smell and she loved it. It was soothing and comforting, always the same in a world so quick to change. It had been the same in her normal and sane first year and it was still the same in her tumultuous and fast paced sixth year.

"Manticore blood is used for… household cleaning? That can't be right…" she muttered. "Someone must have magically chang- AAGH!"

Lily screamed and fell out of her chair, her head smacking against the table leg. She lay stunned as someone doubled over with laughter. The throbbing ache in her head _definitely _didn't contribute to her anger as she leapt to her feet and discovered James Potter rolling on the floor, laughing wildly. The thundering of her heart also most definitely didn't help her leap at him and began punching every inch of him she could reach and it _certainly _didn't make her hex his hair off.

Lily left the library, tucking her wand into her bag, smiling primly as the screams of James and Madam Pince echoed in the room behind her.

She definitely loved libraries.

* * *

James sat sulking in his dormitory, arms crossed while Sirius fell over with laughter at his recounting of the story. Remus was sitting in his favorite chair by the fireside, the tips of his fingers pressed together, face contorting oddly as he fought not to laugh. Finally he let out a loud snort and dissolved into hysteric laughter. James sulked all the more.

"And she cursed you hair off?" Sirius gasped, pulling himself onto a chair and gazing raptly at James. He hesitated then nodded once. It was all Sirius needed to fall over again, laughing. James snorted unamusedly.

"Guys?" Remus said suddenly, very quietly and something in his tone alerted James. James looked over at him. Remus was sitting frozen in his chair, his fingers shaking slightly. He laced them together to make them stop, then nodded at the window. James looked over. A shaft of moonlight was shining over the forest, then was quickly obscured by clouds once again.

"Oh," Sirius said suddenly, all traces of laughter disappearing from his face. He sat up straight and looked intently at Remus.

"Peter, why don't you set off a Dungbomb or two in the common room once we get near the portrait hole?" James whispered. Peter shot him a quick grin and nodded, then disappeared. "Sirius, help Remus to the portrait hole. I'm going to get the map."

The other two listened instantly. Sirius nodded and helped Remus to his feet and they casually sidled off toward the portrait hole. There was no arguing. Not at a time like this.

And no one even noticed when, in the haze of shock and foul smelling smoke, four boys disappeared from the common room. No one happened to look out the window. If they had, they might have seen a flash of red hair, then a massive wolf bounding silently across the grounds, the full moon rising behind him.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Not very good, I know. Sorry. It's a bit short but I promise I'll write the next part as soon as I can. Thank you so much for reading!**_


	23. Into the Forest

_**Author's Notes: I would really appreciate hearing what you think about the chapter. I don't think it's too good, but I tried. Also, since I haven't done this in quite a while, **__**I have no claim on the Harry Potter franchise, and am making no money from any of my fan fiction.**_

* * *

Lily strode across the entrance hall, chattering idly to Mary, whose arms were full of her squirming cat.

"And he's wonderful really, just amazing. Marlene's just jealous because she can't get a boyfriend," Mary was saying, eyes shining with happiness. "And Reg's just wonderful!"

Lily inwardly sighed as Mary went off into yet another tangent, expounding on the virtues of her wondrous boyfriend.

"And he's kind and sweet – _ow!_ Don't scratch me, you silly cat," she said to the foul-tempered cat squirming in her arms. He gave her a look full of malice and purposefully drew a claw down her arm. "Ow! Poor baby, did I scare you?" she said, attempting to pet the cat. He bared his teeth and hissed.

"I don't know why you don't just give him to your little sister," Lily said, watching the cat attempt to claw his way up Mary's arm. "He's a bother during school, really…"

"Oh, I could never get rid of my Fluffikins," Mary cooed. Lily gave the cat a _look_ and it glared back, flattening its tattered ears to its skull and hissing, exposing sharp teeth. She had never seen a cat less worthy of the name 'Fluffikins'.

"Fluffy's almost as wonderful as Reg. Reg is so kind and sweet…"

Lily automatically tuned out Mary as she began to talk about Reg yet _again._

"And yesterday he carried my books for me and – ooh, look at the moon," Mary said, gazing out the window. Lily followed her gaze to see a luminescent, pearly white full moon rising behind the Forbidden Forest. Both girls paused for a moment, watching.

"I think I'm going to go to the library," said Lily after a moment. "I have this really long essay for Arithmancy and-"

BANG.

Both girls screamed as behind them, the doors of the entrance hall exploded open. Through reflexes born of knowing James and his friends, Lily dived to the floor, narrowly avoiding a bottle of ink that fell to the ground only inches from her. Glass rained to the ground and Lily threw her hands up to shield her face automatically.

"Watch out!" she shouted to Mary, who was gazing up, stunned. Twenty feet above them was Peeves, doing little flips in midair as he tossed ink bottles everywhere. A group of seventh year girls screamed loudly as a bottle shattered and splattered them with ink. Students shoved each other, fighting to get out of the way. A group of first years squealed loudly and dived into the Great Hall, followed by a stampede of fighting students.

Mary's cat, Fluffikins, was hissing loudly and spitting at Peeves, who cackled and dived out of the air at the cat. Mary screamed loudly as Fluffikins leapt for Peeves, sharp claws outstretched. Peeves disappeared with a pealing sound from his bell-covered hat and reappeared behind Mary, pelting her with ink bottles. Mary screamed again and started chucking everything she could reach at Peeves.

As an ink bottle shattered only inches away from him, Fluffikins decided he had had enough. With a hiss and final swipe of his claws, the mangy cat turned tail and shot off across the entrance hall. Deciding this was a far better target than the screeching Mary, Peeves cackled once more and zoomed after the cat, pelting him with ink bottles.

Shouting obscenities after Peeves, Mary whipped out her wand and sprinted after the two, Lily following hot on her heels. The cat was zigzagging back and forth, ears lying flat against his head as glass rained around him. As Peeves took aim and threw a bottle that shattered mere inches from the cat, he decided it was safer outside and shot out the doors and hared off toward the Forbidden Forest, thin body pressed low to the ground. Mary halted and watched him go with a look of absolute horror. His skinny shape disappeared only seconds later into the depths of the forest.

With a malicious laugh, Peeves dropped all the remaining bottles and zoomed off up the magnificent marble staircase. Mary promptly collapsed into a sobbing heap.

"L-L-Lily!" she wailed, clutching at Lily's collar so that she was forced into a stooping half bow. "He's g-gone! He went into the F-Forbidden Forest and it's full of w-werewolves and spiders a-and-"

She let out a fresh wail and clutching at Lily as though she were drowning. "And he'll be e-eaten!" she sobbed. Lily choked frantically and pulled at Mary's hands. Mary released her and curled into a ball on the floor. Lily hesitated, but one look at Mary's despairing face was enough to convince her. She glanced up the hallway as though expecting teachers, then sighed.

"Mary," she said gently, tugging at one of the hands that covered Mary's face. Mary whimpered and shook her head.

"He'll d-die," she moaned, seizing handfuls of blonde hair. She looked quite deranged. "And it's all my f-fault…"

"Mary, listen," Lily tried but Mary shook her head stubbornly.

"And the spiders will catch him and…" she let out a fresh wail.

"Mary!" Lily half shouted. Mary was beginning to draw attention; curious students were gathering around her, murmuring to one another. Lily lowered her voice and hissed into Mary's ear, "I'll go and get him…" she hesitated. "You stay here. We'll be back really quickly…"

"You will?" Whatever doubts she might have had were erased by the blissful look on Mary's face. She clutched at Lily's robes. "Be careful…" she said, biting her lip. She rubbed at her red eyes. "I couldn't forgive myself if you got hurt…"

"I'll be fine," said Lily with a confidence she did not feel. She grinned at Mary and winked. "We'll be back in time for you to give him his normal midnight feast."

She backed into the shadows, grinning in a slightly manic way at Mary, who looked as though she could not speak, but her eyes were brimming with fresh tears. She winked at Lily, then burst into fresh tears and more worried students crowded around her, murmuring soothingly.

A quick Disillusionment Charm and a careful slip out the front doors later, Lily found herself striding across the lawn, rays of moonlight illuminating her way, still smiling with confidence that she definitely didn't feel.

* * *

The moon was shining bright overhead as three massive animals strolled casually across the lawn. Something tiny scurried in the grass in front of them, the moon catching silver glints in its fur.

The massive brown stag pranced around and tossed his head with a playful snort. A massive and shaggy black dog replied with a little bark of laughter and nipped at the stag's hooves. James aimed a light kick that easily missed him. Sirius danced back, tongue lolling out and great grey eyes filled with laughter as he barked joyfully. A rat scurrying in the grass nipped at Sirius' tail and the great black dog whirled around furiously, then began to chase his own tail. James tossed his head, massive rack of horns shining in the pure white light of the moon.

The massive wolf even bigger than Sirius sniffed the air around it, tail wagging very slightly. Its muzzle, which tapered to a sharper point than a normal wolf's, shone slightly grey in the moon. Sirius nipped at the werewolf and it snapped at him, slavering jaws missing him by an inch. Sirius barked with gleeful laughter.

After a moment, the four set off across the lawn, heading for the Forbidden Forest, where Sirius had found something strange he wanted to show to the others. It was an odd procession, Peter leading the way with his hairless tail flicking behind him, Remus right behind him, sniffing the air with savage curiosity, Sirius dancing behind Remus, biting at his heels and whipping his tail across James' face. James was the last, his proud and majestic head held high, the moon's rays shining dimly across his antlers.

It had been too long, James thought as Sirius ran off to sniff something, his tail held high and waggling. Sirius gave a bark and gamboled across the lawn; James snorted and tossed his head, then set off after him at a canter.

Behind them, a massive wolf watched, yellowish eyes shining dimly in the light as he observed. Sirius bit James' leg with an almost gleeful bark, then pranced back. James kicked at him, barely missing though both of them knew he would never really hit him. Somewhere, inside the mind of the werewolf, the deeply buried human stirred faintly.

_The happiest days of my life…_

The dog barked and with its tail raised high in the air, they set off across the lawns once more.

* * *

Lily sprinted across the grounds, cursing the cat that had caused the whole fiasco with every puffing breath. She could only thank whatever deities there might have been that the moon was bright and the air was clear. Ahead, the branches of the Forbidden Forest swayed slowly. It was as though the trees knew she was there. Against her will, Lily shivered slightly and her steps grew slower as she approached the menacing forest. A chill breeze picked up and she shuddered once more, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Now that she had arrived, the task seemed more daunting than ever.

The branches swayed. She shivered and still she stood, frozen, unable to move her cold limbs. Finally, there was an odd noise behind her and she jumped, then sighed in defeat, urging her frozen body forward. She entered the forest.

It was a menacing place. The trees blocked out the light, allowing only faint glimmers of moonlight to filter through and penetrate its depths. Animals called softly and there was occasional rustling noises from the foliage surrounding her. An owl hooted dolefully in one of the trees high above and she jumped, nearly tripping over a mossy log.

The prospect of finding a tiny cat in a forest so massive and full of animals was rapidly seeming more impossible than ever.

She stumbled through the forest, branches catching at her hair, her robes. A scratch on her cheek was bleeding from one of the massive thorns that were common in the forest, but after a while she learned to keep an eye out and duck around the more imposing tangles.

There was not silence at all, like she had expected. Winged creatures fluttered high above and the mournful hoots of owls echoed around the forest. Tiny creatures scrabbled in the leaves and hunted for food. Twice, she turned and caught the sight of a furred tail whipping out of sight. The night air was chilly, and she shivered as she caught her foot on a vine and nearly fell.

The forest was almost peaceful, serene… she felt calm, really… it was so like the forest she and Petunia had played in as children… but she knew that behind the innocent mask, the Forbidden Forest was such named for a reason. She shivered and pressed on.

* * *

The forest was familiar and pleasant. As James entered, confident in the knowledge that nothing could harm them, the forest fell silent. The animals were afraid. Werewolves, after all, commanded respect.

Remus slipped past him, ears flat to his skull as he sniffed the air cautiously. When he smelled nothing threatening, his ears perked up and he bounded forward, tail wagging. James followed, kicking at the grass, cantering forward. His large hazel eyes pricked the darkness and he snorted softly. Sirius let out a loud bark, and if he could have, James would have jumped. The sound pierced the silence and sent birds twittering. James shot Sirius an evil look, but the dog just gazed steadily back, tongue lolling out and grey eyes filled with laughter.

Together, they filed one by one into the forest, Remus taking the lead.

* * *

"Here, Fluffy," Lily called softly and cautiously. Something rustled in the bush behind her and she jumped, whirling. Nothing was there. Feeling unnerved and as though she were doing something very foolish, she turned back and called once more.

"Fluffikins?" she said tentatively, feeling very stupid indeed. She shook her head disgusted. "Accio Fluffikins!"

The spell, as she knew it wouldn't, didn't work. There was only silence. Still she stood frozen, waiting, hoping…

Nothing.

She let out a disgusted snort and tucked her wand back in her sleeve and continued on, calling occasionally. _Things _moved in the forest, things she would prefer not to think about and definitely didn't want to meet. Unless she was very much mistaken, she had seen a manticore slipping through the trees only a moment ago. She shivered. The forest didn't seem quite so safe or pleasant anymore, especially when a massive, diamond-patterned snake slid past, only ten feet away.

She held perfectly still, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. She held her breath and watched it, petrified, but the snake slid on, unperturbed. Lily shuddered, but continued on, cursing the cat who had got her into this entire mess in her mind.

_Damn cat, stupid cat, bloody cat, stupid c- what was that?_

Lily froze and slowly turned, holding her breath.

_Nothing._

Shaking her head in amusement, feeling rather stupid, she turned back around. She had only taken one step, when on some subconscious whim, she glanced over her shoulder, then froze.

There was a stag… it was beautiful, with wide hazel eyes and thick and oddly messy fur… she watched it, frozen with shock for a moment. It dipped its graceful head down to nibble at the grass. The next moment, a massive black dog gamboled into her line of sight. It licked the stag and the stag reared back, looking disgusted, if stags could show emotion. It kicked at the dog, but missed by several feet. Wondering if she were going mad or maybe dreaming, Lily reached down and discreetly pinched herself. It hurt quite a lot, of course, as pinches are wont to do. This seemed to rule out the dream part, but madness…. Lily still considered that option quite open, especially when a plump rat squeaked loudly as it scurried into the meadow, followed by what could only be…

Her eyes trailed up the massive wolf's body, from its sharply tapering muzzle to its tail, which was oddly tufted. When it bared its teeth at the stag, it revealed teeth even sharper than normal wolf's teeth were.

Lily couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She could only watched, petrified with terror, as the werewolf bent its head to lap at a little pool of water. She was trembling, she realised dimly as one fumbling hand pulled her wand from her sleeve. She took a little shuddering breath to calm herself.

The monster's head whipped around; golden eyes narrowed. Yellow teeth pulled back into a rictus of a smile, exposing slavering teeth. It sniffed the air; keen nose searching for her smell… her strawberry shampoo was going to lead the monster right to her. She would be bitten and reduced to a life of misery or killed and eaten, but at the moment, the only thing she could think was that she should have used less shampoo. She took a tiny step back, wand shaking slightly in her hand. A twig cracked under her foot.

The werewolf's eyes narrowed. It turned. It saw her.

In a blur of movement so fast she barely saw it, it crouched and sprang, massive claws outstretched. Lily fell back, shouting indiscriminate curses and spells. There was a bang and a flash of light and the werewolf flew back and slammed into a tree. The stag and dog were beginning to turn, startled, but Lily didn't wait for them to see her as well.

She vaulted a mossy log and sprinted through the forest. Branches tore at her face, catching in her hair. She felt strands of red hair being ripped out but the pain only urged her on. Gritting her teeth, she ran. Over logs, branches, animals too slow to move, she leapt over them all. Her wand swept through the air and a path cleared through the brambles. Behind her, she could hear the beating of paws.

She suddenly instinctually ducked; a massive shape flew over her head and slammed into the ground. It rolled and crawled to its four paws, shaking dirt and leaves from its pelt, but Lily didn't stay to watch. She whirled around and urged her tired legs on. She could hear her heart thundering; hear the blood pounding.

There was a loud, mournful howling from far behind them. The werewolf behind her paused; she risked a glance over her shoulder to see its ears pricked and its eyes focused somewhere behind her. It was that look that proved her undoing.

As she crashed through the forest, eyes focused behind her, a large log loomed ahead of her. She took her eyes off the werewolf and turned back just in time to see the log but not fast enough to leap it. She made a sort of pathetic jump that wasn't nearly high enough to clear it and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do. She shut her eyes.

Her ankle slammed into the log and she heard a loud crack breaking the silence. It didn't hurt – at least not at first. She lay winded on the leafy ground, the small scratches on her arms and face throbbing. A bit of blood dripped down her face. Then the pain started.

A fiery, stabbing pain shot up her leg and Lily's eyes widened. She let out a strangled gasp, then covered her mouth and looked around, heart thundering in her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut as waves of pain enveloped her. Tears of pain squeezed out, but she didn't allow herself to make any noise.

The forest was silent as she sat, waiting for the werewolf to return.

* * *

The werewolf in question bounded through the woods, his ears pricked with interest. Another howl, this one softer, echoed through the forest and the werewolf bared its teeth and urged its legs on. The sweet scent of the girl grew fainter and fainter until it at last disappeared.

At last, he bounded into the clearing from which the howling had come from, but it was abandoned. He circled the area, wondering where his friends were. He sniffed the air. Their scent still lingered, but it was fainter. He paced the area, growling in confusion. He lowered his head to sniff at a bit of grass.

He never saw it when a hoof suddenly flew out of nowhere and struck his head. Lightning pain shot through his head and the werewolf collapsed. As his sight grew dim, he saw a dog hurrying out of the forest to sniff at him. Then all went dark.

* * *

There were three things wrong with the world at that moment.

1. Her leg was broken and when she tried to crawl, it sent a jolt of fiery pain zinging through her body.

2. The moon was disappearing behind clouds and she was already beginning to shiver with cold, wrapping her jumper-clad arms around her in a vain attempt to keep warm.

3. She was stuck in the Forbidden Forest at nightfall with only a murderous werewolf and half a petting zoo for company.

She was doomed.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Next chapter should be in just three days. I have a question though. This is during sixth year and I'm going on a trip for three weeks on Easter. In the reviews, could you tell me whether you would prefer me to stop this fan fiction and only possibly do seventh year, or do you think I should just take a short hiatus for the trip? **_

_**I would write during the whole trip, though. I can't get internet connection, sadly, unless I want to pay almost a dollar a minute, so that won't work. I was just wondering what you think.**_

_**Sorry for the really long author's note. Thank you for reading!**_


	24. Werewolf

_**Author's Notes: Thank you so much for your reviews telling me what you think. I guess I'll be writing during the trip. When I come back, I promise I'll post approximately twenty million chapters. Thank you!**_

* * *

Lily Evans was nothing if not a practical girl.

Once she had ascertained that the slavering werewolf was not, after all, coming back to eat her, she began crawling across the forest floor.

It was slow going. She dragged her broken leg behind her, pulling herself ahead with hands that were cut and bloody. The moss and twigs under her grasping hands were loose, and it was at least over ten minutes by the time she managed to pull herself across the clearing to a massive branches fallen from one of the trees.

It was wedged firmly into the crook of an old and rotting tree. She tugged at it, feeling the weathered bark tearing painfully at her hands, but it didn't so much as budge. Gritting her teeth and summoning up her courage, Lily braced herself, hissing at the pain in her leg, and gave the hardest pull she possibly could.

The branch remained immobile.

She swallowed the disappointed lump in her throat and gave the branch an uncertain tug. It creaked very slightly, but remained otherwise motionless.

She slumped to the forest floor, twigs and sticks poking into her legs painfully, but she didn't care. Her eyes burned with disappointment and pain. Her leg seemed to be on fire and every individual scrape and scratch on her body throbbed and burned.

She stared hopelessly at the forest, and wished she had her wand back. Somewhere during the chase she had dropped it. It only made her feel more helpless. She was trapped in a forest that was aptly titled forbidden, wandless and with a broken leg, with a vicious werewolf and many other creatures that would be absolutely delighted to make hors _d'œuvres out of her. _

Her gaze lowered and she stared at an oddly shaped tree, hoping desperately that Mary would realise what had happened, that she would send a rescue party… but the prospect of finding a girl who was afraid of luring the werewolf back seemed impossible in such a huge forest.

Then she saw it.

It was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen.

It was, to most people, something ordinary, boring – nothing to which they would give a second look. It was strangely shaped, bumpy, and its bark was particularly rough looking. It had an odd pronged look and was particularly ugly, even for a stick. To Lily, it meant salvation.

She began to crawl as fast as she could across the ground, ignoring the stabbing pain of her leg as she dragged it behind her in her haste. Ten feet… five feet… two… there!

With a feeling of relief, and for the first time, hope, she grabbed the stick and tugged. It came out of the loose soil easily, covered in grime and wriggling bugs – most of which had never seen the light of day. Lily hugged it to her, tears of relief making their way down her face.

* * *

James, Sirius, and Peter all stared at the limp form of a werewolf. Its eyes were almost closed, but James could see a slit of gleaming yellow under the lids. Its mouth was still contorted in a snarl, its eyes still narrowed slightly. Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"What do we do? Who was that? What if they tell Dumbledore or – or what if Dumbledore expels Remus?" he was starting to look panicked. "What if they got bitten before I called him back? What if we gave him brain damage? He could never help us with school work again!" he said with a look of dawning horror.

Peter was already past panicked. He had sunk to the ground, shivering and staring blankly at Remus. He rocked back and forth, muttering very fast to himself. James was rather inclined to join him.

"What do we do, what do we do, what do we _do?_" Sirius was chanting, seizing clumps of hair and looking rather deranged.

"I-" James hesitated, still staring at Remus as though mesmerized. "We should find that kid… make sure Remus didn't bite them."

"How? They could be anywhere!" Sirius shouted, grabbing his hair and yanking. Several strands of black hair came out and he showed them to James, looking scandalized. "Look what you made me do!"

"Shut up about your hair," said James impatiently, searching his robes for his wand. "We have more important things to worry about." He turned to stare broodingly into the forest, mentally searching for every student who had red hair. Lily came to the front of his mind at once but he immediately dismissed the thought. Prefect Lily was far too perfect to wander into the Forbidden Forest. That strange boy in Ravenclaw? Hmm…

"More important?" Sirius demanded, cutting into his thoughts. "Nothing is more important than my hair – James, MOVE!"

James began to turn, arms automatically rising to shield his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an oddly shifting form but the horrible sight in front of him commanded his attention.

Remus – or rather, the werewolf – had awoken. And by the looks of his bared teeth as he dived for James, he was most decidedly _not _happy.

"Run!" shouted Peter, catching James' sleeve as he stood, mesmerized, staring into the face of the werewolf. Peter managed to drag James out of the way just in time. The werewolf landed heavily, then whirled to face the two boys, golden eyes narrowing cruelly.

Peter stood in front of James, shaking but pointing his wand at the werewolf's face.

"S-stay back," he said, wand trained on the werewolf. "I don't want to hurt you, Remus… James, you really need to find your wand."

If wolves could have grinned, James swore the werewolf would have. It crouched, then sprang, massive claws outstretched. Yelling, both boys flung themselves to the side, the werewolf missing by mere inches.

A loudly barking Sirius collided with the werewolf, sending them flying. The werewolf slammed into a tree and fell to the ground, limp. Sirius shakily crawled to his feet, one paw held awkwardly above the ground. The werewolf stood, shaking itself off.

"Run!" shouted Peter, already shrinking. "Find that idiot out in the forest! GO!"

James hesitated, but one vicious look from Sirius was enough to convince him.

The transformation was familiar and he was running even before his hooves were fully formed.

* * *

Lily had managed to turn the branch into a makeshift crutch and within minutes she was hobbling across the forest floor, hopping awkwardly. The wood pressed painfully into her arm and the bark tore at her tender skin but it was infinitely better than using her broken leg.

As she hobbled toward where she desperately hoped was Hogwarts castle, she cast hopeful glances at the ground in hopes of sighting her wand. The sound of screams and barks drifted across the forest to her. She paused and turned, wishing more than ever that she had her wand back.

There was a horrible howl that was abruptly cut off and she shivered, then turned back to where she thought the school was. A mournful scream drifted across the still night air and she shuddered and hopped even faster.

There was an agonized screech and the sound of howling. Lily flinched and drove herself on; hoping desperately that the werewolf had found juicier prey and wouldn't return for dessert in the form of a tasty girl or two.

"RUN!"

Lily paused once again and turned, gripping her makeshift crutch securely. That was most definitely not an animal. But what could she do? She was wandless and had a broken leg. Feeling like complete scum, she hurried forward. Branches tore at her exposed arms and legs, ripping her cheeks open and leaving glistening red tracks.

Lily stared around herself and groaned. The forest looked exactly the same. Everywhere she looked or went, everything looked _identical_. The same branches, the same trees, the same – damn – thing. Lily wanted to scream but she contented herself with a stomp of her foot, which she immediately regretted.

The soft light from the moon that had been illuminating the forest began to turn darker. Lily couldn't help a little gasp as the suddenly frightening forest went suddenly dark. She looked up to see the last vestiges of light vanish behind the thick covering of clouds that was drifting across the night sky.

"No," she groaned. "No, no, no… Please don't do that… please…" she said in a broken voice but the clouds paid no attention to the voice of a desperate witch. She watched hopelessly, staring at the darkened sky as though it would somehow help. It didn't, of course, and after a moment she turned to more practical things.

"Fire would be nice," she whispered to herself. It was probably more than just a bit mad, but she found it comforting, even soothing. Her voice was the sound of a human being, proof of the fact that she wasn't the only person in the world, which was what it felt like in the thick forest.

She awkwardly hopped across the tiny clearing and bent over, fighting not to overbalance and topple, to pick up a small stick. She moved across the clearing, grabbing sticks and moss, anything that looked dry enough to burn.

"Now," she muttered once she had gathered a sizable amount of brushwood. "I need fire. Incendio!" she said, pointing a stick at the fire. It remained as it was: a suddenly pitiful looking bundle of sticks and bits of moss. She looked at the stick in her hand and realised it wasn't a wand. Muttering disgustedly, she dropped it onto the pile and plopped heavily onto the ground next to her attempt at a fire. She buried her head in her hands.

_Stupid cat,_ she thought bitterly. _Stupid werewolf. Stupid moon._

She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of her breathing for a moment. She thought of her family and wondered how upset they would be if she died. She remembered Petunia and almost smiled.

_Ha ha… she'll probably be glad to hear I got myself eaten by a manticore or something…_

The thought was immensely depressing and she immediately discarded it. Instead, she thought of a time when they had been friends… the best of friends…

She pictured them, Petunia puffing up her chest importantly and adding a stick to the pile they had made, Lily looking adoringly up at her. She had tentatively offered her own stick and Petunia smiled and ruffled her hair, bending down to reassure her.

_Of course, that was years ago… so long… that was when we were camping and Dad… Dad…_

"Of course!" she half shouted, launching to her feet. Her ankle immediately protested and she winced, then sat back down and grabbed a flat piece of bark and a stick.

_We were building a fire…_

* * *

James bounded through the woods silently, his hooves pounding into the mossy soil, his blood rushing. Behind him, he could still hear the sounds of fighting animals, pained yelps, a mournful howl... He closed his ears and forced himself on.

He ran on, following the path of the werewolf. He could tell by the flattened ground, the muddy prints, the tangy scent of blood on the sharp branches protruding into the path the meddling student had created.

Inwardly, he cured them. How stupid could you be, really? Why on earth would you see a werewolf and make noise? That idiot had ruined their night out and forced him to knock Remus out… behind him, he could hear a piteous yelp and a snap that echoed in the silence. If the others were hurt because of that idiot's stupidity…

He spurred himself on even as a horrible scream echoed from the forest behind him.

* * *

Ten minutes later and Lily was ready to give up. Her stick hadn't even sparked once. She chucked it to the ground and laid back, staring up at the obscured stars. She closed her eyes, frustrated tears leaking out.

She couldn't believe she was in this situation, and all for some stupid cat… if it weren't for Mary's cat and Peeves, she could be sitting up in her dormitory, scribbling down an essay or happily gossiping with her friends… Marlene would be flipping through a Quidditch magazine and Mary would be chattering about something that had caught her eye…

Another tear fell and she impatiently brushed the rest away.

"Too late for that," she told herself impatiently. "You ran into the forest, now deal with the consequences."

She brought a grimy hand to her eyes and rubbed furiously, removing any traces of tears.

"Good," she said to herself, her breath rasping in her chest. She coughed painfully and watched her breath crystallize in the air and dissipate. The air was very cold and she shivered. "Good…" she repeated to herself. "Now, sit up and look around. Hogwarts shouldn't be that far."

She followed her own directions and clumsily crawled to her feet, using the makeshift crutch to pull herself up. She closed her eyes and wondered how on earth she would find Hogwarts in this massive forest…

_Don't you dare cry,_ her inner voice ordered herself. She obediently rubbed at her eyes. _Now, look for lights through the trees._

_Good idea,_ she thought back. Maybe she was going mad. She didn't care. Madness could wait; she needed to find Hogwarts.

She turned slowly, eyes searching through the gloom. There was only blackness. She groaned and was about to give up when something caught her eye. She slowly turned. There. The faintest of lights twinkled through the trees. A breeze caught her hair and blew it around her face. She didn't make any movement to brush it away; she just stood frozen and stared at the light as though it would vanish if she looked away.

"Now," she whispered. "To get back to Hogwarts."

Lily set off through the trees with renewed vigor, her stick thumping against the ground as she hopped hastily along.

Ahead, the lights of the castle twinkled through the forest and curious black eyes followed Lily with interest.

* * *

James padded through the forest more quietly now, occasionally bending his head to sniff at the twigs and branches that had been shoved out of the way as the terrified student had crashed clumsily through. He gracefully slipped through the brambles and thorns, ducking low branches and delicately stepping over fallen trees.

There was a soft cry ahead of him and his ears pricked, his head raised alertly. He took off through the forest, silent and swift, only to freeze at the sight before him.

Lily stood absolutely frozen in the middle of the clearing, her hands raised defensively. She was balancing awkwardly on one leg but she didn't dare move to sit down. As she swayed badly, James saw the black eyes of her pursuer flick curiously to her and a tiny whimper escaped her throat.

He shifted back and walked forward. A twig cracked under his foot and instantly the eyes of the creature flicked to him and he froze.

"Lily? Don't move an inch."

* * *

Lily stood as still as she possibly could in the middle of a large clearing. Her crutch had fallen and she wobbled dangerously. The eyes immediately focused on her leg, curious. She closed her eyes and whimpered slightly.

A woman stood in front of her, her head tilted to the side. Her eyes were wide and interested, black as pitch. There were no whites. Her form was skeletally thin and the hand that was placed on her hip showed every bone in her hand, horribly defined. Her paper-thin skin was tinted a horrible deathly green and her black hair hung to her ankles, limp and greasy.

Lily shivered slightly.

A twig cracked behind her and a hoarse voice whispered to her.

"Lily? Don't move an inch."

Silently, she rejoiced. She knew that voice.

"James?" she whispered back, her voice shaking slightly. She felt him join her and she flicked a glance at him. Never had his messy hair, his hazel eyes, and even his square glasses looked so comforting. He slipped his hand into hers and for once she didn't argue. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

"What is she?" whispered James, not taking his eyes off the woman in front of them.

"A banshee," Lily whispered back. "I really didn't think they were in the Forbidden Forest… I mean, thestrels and maybe a manticore or two that managed to get here by accident or escaped from idiots importing them live in the forest, but aren't banshees supposed to be-"

"Lily, you're babbling," James hissed at her, and she felt sure he would have been smirking had he not been staring down the banshee, who was looking increasingly annoyed.

"I am not!" she hissed back, offended. "I am-"

"You're talking about me, aren't you?"

The voice was horribly raspy and both of them instinctively flinched, Lily's hands darting up to cover her ears. They looked up. The banshee was watching them, her pitch eyes as cold as ice. Lily felt a chill run down her spine, but resisted the urge the shiver.

"You're whissspering," the banshee hissed, drawing out the word with savage coldness. "Talking about me… saying horrible things… everyone hates me…"

To Lily's immense surprise, the banshee's dark eyes looked suddenly watery and her chin jutted out as though she were about to cry.

"They all scream when they see me… they run away…" the skeletal woman's voice was scratchy and agonizing. Lily could feel James' hand trembling in hers. "Everyone hates me! Why?"

The banshee screwed up her eyes and opened her mouth, tears dripping down her face. She drew a rattling breath, then wailed, sobbing unrestrainedly.

Lily screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her ears. The sound was like nothing else. Nails running down a chalkboard couldn't even compare. She could vaguely hear James screaming beside her, his hands clamped over his ears.

"Run!" she screamed at him, her voice shaking. The banshee was crying and screaming shrilly. Lily felt as though her brain were about to melt. Her head pounded agonizingly and she swayed. Her vision was blurring…

"RUN!" she shouted at the top of her voice, giving him a kick for good measure, but James seemed incapable of moving. Ignoring her beloved stick that lay abandoned on the ground, Lily seized him around the upper arm and ran.

Fiery pain shot up her leg, but it was nothing compared to the banshee. She ran as fast as she could, hauling James behind her. He was a screaming wreck, his face screwed up and his hands clenched over his ears.

Behind them in the clearing, the banshee paused in her wailing and looked around. "They're gone?" she said sadly, eyes filling with tears. "Everyone hates me!" she wailed before opening her mouth and letting out a fresh cry.

* * *

Lily couldn't move; she could only lay, her eyes wide but unseeing. The clouds drifted across the moon for a tantalizing second before darkness covered the forest again. James was lying beside her, his harsh breathing the only sound in the world.

She reached out, her hand fumbling across the ground, clutching at grass before finding his hand. She gripped it, not caring that this was _James Potter,_ not caring that there was no reason he should be in the forest. He was there. He was real.

It was enough.


	25. HIATUS

_**Author's Notes: I loved the name for the Lily / James pairing. Evongs. Has a nice sound.**_

_**I'm leaving in about an hour. I want to thank each and every one of you that read the story, even if you didn't like it.**_

_**Thank you so much!**_

* * *

The sun was already rising by the time either of them felt in any condition to move. They both lay there, chests rising and falling unsteadily, hands tightly entangled as the sun rose into the sky above.

Lily was the first to move. Slowly, as if her whole body were stiff, her fingers twitched, then she pulled away from James, who let out a little moan. She pushed herself into a sitting position, then looked at James.

"J-James," she rasped. Her voice was scratchy and harsh. She licked her lips, which were dry and cracked. She coughed. "James, g-get up. Are you okay?"

James remained immobile, his hazel eyes half closed, his breathing shallow. Lily placed a shaking hand on his forehead only for him to screech shrilly and leap backward, squealing.

"Gaah!" he yelled, throwing himself back and slapping weakly at her outstretched hand. She stared. "Get away, banshee!" he looked at her more closely, then blinked slowly. "You're not a banshee…" he said in tones of dawning surprise, hand automatically darting up to ruffle his already messy hair. A leaf fell out and she caught it mechanically, then tore it in half while glaring at him.

"Well spotted, Potter," Lily said acidly, frowning at him. "Now, please tell me you have your wand."

James stared at her. He blinked, then slowly shook his head. Lily felt as though she had been punched in the stomach, the pangs of fear rising once again.

"Are you _serious? _Y-you don't? Why the hell don't you, Potter?" she demanded angrily, moving backward so that his hand wasn't touching hers. "Why would you go into the _Forbidden Forest _without your one weapon?"

She threw up her hands in disgust. James was looking extremely uncomfortable and staring at his shoes, which were badly tattered, she noticed with distant surprise.

"Stop mentally accessing your footwear and help me up," Lily snapped. James silently stood and offered her a hand, which she accepted gingerly. She swayed badly on her one leg; other foot balanced a half inch from the ground.

"Why are you here, Potter?" Lily asked the first question that came to mind. James shuffled uncomfortably. "What happened to your shoes? Do you know where your wand is?"

James smirked and Lily knew instantly what he was going to say. She narrowed her eyes and hopped forward to glare at him, eyes piercing into his.

"Potter," she hissed in a deadly voice. "I don't _need_ a wand to be dangerous. If I ever hear you say that anywhere within a thousand meters of me, I will rip off some vital parts and make you eat them. Am I clear?"

Looking cowed, James nodded swiftly, gulping. Feeling as though she had been unnecessarily cruel and not liking the feeling one bit, Lily turned on her heel and hopped clumsily toward the trees.

"Lily?" James called from behind her.

"What?" she demanded, turning sharply and glaring at him. The feeling of guilt was not helping her sour mood at all. James looked odd, his mouth quivering as he fought to restrain a smirk. The result was that he looked as though he had a bad toothache.

"You're going the wrong way," he said, grinning at her. "The castle's that way."

She went as red as her hair. Casting him a savage look as she passed, she hopped past him. He followed at a more sedate pace and even without looking at him, Lily knew he was smirking at her. And she had a very good idea where his eyes were focused.

"Walk in front of me," she ordered, pausing to allow him to go past. He took a last lingering look, smiled at her, gave a mocking bow and a "As you wish, my lady," and strode ahead of her, whistling jauntily. She wished he wouldn't. The shrill noise only exacerbated her pounding headache.

"Please stop," she groaned after about five minutes of horribly off-key, high-pitched whistling. James turned to look at her, a look of mock surprise plastered all over his stupidly handsome face. He grinned at her.

"Why, Lily-Flower?" he said, deliberately using the one nickname guaranteed to infuriate her. And infuriate her it did. Her blood pressure skyrocketed and she saw red.

"Don't call me that!" she shrieked. Around her, she heard the call of alarmed birds as they took flight. The trees shivered, splattering her with morning dew and not improving her mood at all.

"What shouldn't I call you, Lily-Pad?" he asked, looking confused. Lily let out a strangled screech and curled her fingers into claws. He just laughed.

"Don't – call – me – that," she growled, shoulders hunched. James laughed and continued. She followed him, snagging a stick from the surrounding forest and using it as a makeshift crutch. It wasn't as good as her beloved older one, but it was serviceable. She limped on, glaring at the back of his head. _His_ _stupid messy hair_, she thought bitterly, eyes boring a hole in his head. If looks could kill, Lily would be on her own.

"I have a nickname for you," said James after a moment, stopping and staring at something in the distance. "Carrot-"

"James," said Lily sweetly. "If you finish that sentence, I'll make sure your last moments are full of pain."

"Oooh, someone's cranky," James mocked, setting off once more.

"Of course I am!" Lily shrieked, face turning brightly red once again. "I'm trapped in a forest with an incompetent idiot who thinks that quills are tasty food and once fed an owl a Dungbomb! What do you _think_ I'm feeling?"

James wasn't listening to her. His eyes were fixed off in the distance. She glared at him, her hands clenching into fists at her side. Her hands were tightening around her stick until her knuckles were white and the stick creaked in protest.

"In fact," Lily carried on, more stridently than ever. "I would rather be trapped in a cesspool with a Slytherin for eternity than spend one more moment with you-"

"Shut up," James said suddenly. Lily obeyed, more out of pure and utter rage than anything else. She couldn't even find the words. Her face turned steadily redder and she raised her stick in a threatening way. "You need to get down, Lily…" he said quietly, staring into the distance.

"What?" she said stupidly, anger making it hard to think things more complicated than '_Murder James Potter horrifically.'_

"Lay on the ground for a minute," James said in tones more serious than she could believe possible of him. She glared at him, clutching her stick tightly.

"If this is a trick…"

"You'll feed me my innards, yes, yes, I know," said James with a little smile. He gave her an infernal wink, his eyes sparkling with the almost permanent cheer he possessed. She gave him one last _look_, then obliged and sat down, holding her stick for comfort.

He grinned at her one last time and winked, then began to stride off in a different direction.

"Where are you going?" Lily hissed after him. "You're abandoning me, aren't you? You _bastard. _I should have known not to-"

"I'll be back in a second," said James, turning to shoot her one last grin. "I promise."

She felt her fury waver at the melt-worthy grin, then it strengthened once more.

"I'll hold you to that," she promised.

* * *

James slipped through the trees, four long legs effortlessly covering ground that would have taken his human form hours. His keen eyes noted the crushed foliage, the broken sticks and branches, the smell the creatures left behind.

He lowered his head to poke at a particularly strange rock when something alerted him. He froze, keen ears twitching slightly. Slowly, as to not provoke them, he raised his head.

There were six of them, more than he had expected. Six hulking, massive beasts. Their yellow eyes watched him curiously, their heads tilted with interest. The dire wolves were immense; at least three times the size of normal wolves. Their bodies were muscular and lean and as one took a step toward him, he noted the sinewy grace – not unlike cats.

The one in front bared its teeth, revealing two-inch long, yellow, sharply serrated teeth. It took another step forward, massive paws sinking deeply into the forest loam, silvered claws catching the light. If he could, he would have shivered. The claws were three-inches long and looked deadly. James felt doubts upon seeing the monstrous creatures. He had only seen them in textbooks… somehow they were far more imposing and frightening in real life.

He tossed his head and snorted, then lowered his head as a challenge to the leader of the pack, a heavily scarred wolf that was even larger than the others. It snarled and slipped forward past its fellows to face James.

James would have smirked if he could have.

Too easy...

* * *

Lily waited, shivering slightly and clutching her stick for comfort. She had no idea what James was doing, but suspected he had run off to do something stupidly 'heroic'. She muttered curses at James while wondering what she could do.

There were suddenly a series of horrible howls from the forest in the distance. One was cut abruptly short and there were additional howls of what sounded like rage. Lily's eyes widened and she spotted a large rock on the leafy ground a few feet away. It was weathered and small, but sharp.

She grinned.

Perfect.

* * *

James lashed out with a bone-shattering kick.

The massive wolf howled in pain as it connected with its foreleg and fell back, dragging its leg behind it. More wolves closed in, slavering jaws snapping at him. He danced back, kicking one and goring another's eye with his horns. More howling.

Now the wolves were more cautious. They moved around him in an uneasy ring, occasionally leaping forward to snap at him. He whirled and kicked anything that got near. There were several sickening snaps and wolves fell back, howling in agony.

Inside, he was laughing. This was far too easy.

* * *

Lily grinned and dropped the rock, then inspected her stick with satisfaction. It had been whittled as best she could by the sharp rock into a savage point.

"Right," she muttered, using it to climb to her feet. "Just try to get me with this…"

There was a sudden cacophony of howls and finally she could hear the sounds of animals running through the forest. She gripped her stick still more tightly, lowering it and preparing to use it as a spear. She could hear thumps and crunches as something made its way through the foliage.

She crept behind a tree, sharp stick raised threateningly. The thing stumbled out and she moved.

"Yaah!" she yelled, leaping out from behind the tree and stabbing her stick forward, intent on killing before she was killed. Whatever savage animal it was, it would soon learn not to mess with Lily Evans.

The spear halted inches from James' throat.

He blinked in shock and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. For a second, Lily stood frozen, staring in surprise at James. He swallowed with difficulty – and with good reason. The makeshift spear was pressed to his throat.

"Er…" James said uncertainly. Coming to her senses, Lily blinked and dropped the stick.

"James? Where were you and why did you run away?" Lily said. Questions were tumbling out without cease. "What were those animals doing? Please tell me you did not run off to fight those animals in the woods. Are you _trying _to get yourself killed?"

James looked confused. Sighing, she looked down and for the first time registered his appearance.

He was covered in leaves and twigs. His clothes were ripped and she could see blood oozing from shallow wounds on his sides. He moved stiffly and he was breathing hard.

"James? James!"

He toppled forward, taking the unprepared Lily with him. She was pinned under him. His eyes were closed and she could see that his glasses were cracked.

"James? Wake up… come on, James… wake up…" she pleaded with him. His breathing was growing steadily shallower and a thin trickle of blood dripped onto her face from his temple, where there was a deep wound.

"Come on, James, wake up… we need to get to Hogwarts and…" her voice was breaking. "Please…" she pleaded with James. His hazel eyes were half closed; she could see a strip of white under his lids. He seemed to be growing heavier and heavier. His elbow was jammed in her ribs and his knee was pressed into her stomach. There was only one thing to do.

"James," she said in a soothing, persuasive voice. His breathing hitched slightly and another drip of blood dripped from his temple. She winced. "James…" she cooed. "If you wake up, I promise I'll… I'll kiss you."

For a moment, there was no response. Then his eyes opened and he focused on Lily. He let out a groan and Lily held her breath, looking at him in fear. What if he was more badly wounded than she thought? What if he had internal injuries? What if he _died?_ He let out a hacking cough and Lily stared at him, eyes full of worry. He muttered something and she leaned closer.

"What, James?" she whispered. Maybe he was telling her his last wishes.

"Ki-" he broke off into a fit of coughing and her worry intensified. Maybe he was sick. He let out a rasping cough, then- "Kiss?" he said, eyes hopeful. Lily stared at him, internally kicking herself for ever being worried about that prat. He looked at her with massive eyes that begged her. Lily half closed her eyes, letting out a tiny groan.

A promise was a promise.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, James was still bouncing around the clearing, whooping and singing at the top of his voice. Lily sat in the middle of the clearing, her head buried in her head. She groaned.

"Why…?" she said piteously, thumping her head against the ground with each word. "Why would I promise that? _Why?"_

She whimpered and rocked back and forth. "I _kissed _him," she said in shock, putting a hand up to her lips. At the memory, she spat on the ground and scrubbed at her mouth with the back of her hand as if it would erase the last half hour.

"I hate you," she said to James, who was singing loudly and hugging random trees. James bounded around, then actually _skipped_ over to Lily. He bent down, grinning brilliantly at her.

"Why, Lily-Flower, Lily-Pad, Carrot-Hair-"

Lily reached up and seized a clump of hair. James let out a pathetic little squeak as Lily yanked, forcing his head down.

"If it weren't for the fact that I did promise, I would be ripping all your precious, beloved hair out and _feeding it to you_," she hissed threateningly in his ear. James squeaked in reply and she released him. He rubbed the side of his head, still grinning.

"Kinky," James said, winking.

Lily threw back her head and screamed.

* * *

Finally, once James was finished loudly singing to the forest that he had kissed Lily Evans, the two set off again, Lily moving as fast as she could. Never had she been more eager to escape James. James was still humming the song he had made up under his breath.

"You were faking it, weren't you?" Lily said to James a moment later after a long stretch of silence. He looked up, surprised. She continued, anger making her words more cruel than she had intended. "You just pretended… I suppose it was the thrill of your life, making me kiss you. Why I ever believed you…" she threw up her hands in disgust. "I should know that you're a lying, cheating idiot who likes to eat quills."

"That was once!" James said in protest. "I thought it was one of Peter's Sugar Quills! As for the rest…" he lowered his head and muttered something that she knew wasn't meant for her ears, but years of hindering the four boys in any way she could honed her senses. "I thought you knew me better."

Lily had no reply for that.

They trekked through the forest, both of them now silent. The only noises were the singing of birds and the rustling of animals. The sun sank steadily lower in the sky, the light turning red and making Lily's fair skin blood-red. Finally, Lily spoke.

"Why were you so scared of the banshee? You just… froze."

James didn't reply and she sighed and lowered her head, cheeks burning red with shame. When he spoke, however, he sounded as though he had been considering his answer, not snubbing her.

"My grandfather… a banshee came. I was there. She screamed and he – he died," James finished lamely, looking embarrassed. Now his cheeks were just as red as hers.

"Sorry," said Lily quietly. James smiled, though it looked rather forced.

"It's okay," he said. He slipped his hand into hers and for once, she didn't protest.

* * *

Several hours later, Lily finally staggered into the castle. Moving slowly and stiffly, still clutching her stick, she walked toward Gryffindor Tower. Students gaped at her, shocked at her appearance, but she either didn't care or didn't notice. Leaves and bits of detritus fell behind her, leaving a trail that Filch would scream over many hours later.

"Boomslang," Lily told the portrait, who peered questioningly at her, lowering her wineglass.

"Where have you been?" the Fat Lady said in tones of shock. "A prefect like you should-"

"Shut it," Lily said tiredly. The portrait, still looking shocked, swung forward and she clambered inside.

There was absolute silence in the common room as stunned students turned to stare at Lily as she staggered toward the girls' dormitories, tripping and stumbling. A bit of leaf fell from her hair as she hopped forward, stick clunking against the floor and echoing in the silence. Lily climbed the stairs gingerly and opened the door.

Mary was curled up on her bed, sobbing frantically. Marlene sat by her, patting her head consolingly. Mary was gasping something out, but her hiccoughs and sobs made the words incomprehensible.

"And she'll hate me!" Mary cried in a rare moment of lucid speech. She promptly dissolved into wails once more.

"Now, don't be so stupid," Marlene was saying as Lily walked forward silently. Neither of them had noticed her yet. "Lily would never hate you."

Mary raised her tear-stained face to glare at Marlene.

"You're right… she won't… and you know why? Because something ate her and I was the one that sent her out there!" Mary howled, hiccoughing frantically.

"Nice to see you have so little faith in me," Lily said.

For a moment, there was absolute silence. Then as one, the girls turned. Mary gaped at her while Marlene settled for looking relieved. For a moment, suspicious wetness welled up in Marlene's eyes before she wiped it away with a sharp gesture and merely smiled cheerily, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"Oh good," she said as Lily hopped forward. "I have an essay on Monday and I can't let Mary write it; that would be a disaster."

Mary just gaped at Lily, then collapsed, absolutely howling.

"Mary!" said Lily in alarm, rushing forward. Mary clutched at her like she were drowning, hiccoughing and sobbing. She was hiccoughing out two words over and over, but her sobs made it difficult to discern what she was saying. Lily strained to listen.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mary howled, gripping Lily's robes like she would disappear if she let go. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, Mary, really!" Lily tried to assure her distraught friend but Mary just fell back onto her bed, crying - whether it was with relief or sadness, Lily didn't know. Marlene rolled her eyes and fanned herself with a magazine.

"She's been hysterical the entire day," she informed Lily, who was patting Mary comfortingly. "She told the teachers. Where were you, by the way?"

"Forbidden Forest," Lily muttered, trying to pull free of Mary's clawing hands.

"Fluffy," Mary managed to whimper. Lily winced, her cheeks going scarlet.

"Listen… I'm really, really sorry, Mary, but I couldn't find Fluffy. I promise I looked but-"

Marlene snorted loudly and Lily shot her a disgusted look.

"You could be a bit more sensitive," Lily hissed over Mary's head. In response, Marlene just pointed behind Lily and she turned.

Fluffikins was sitting atop Mary's desk, his tattered ears flicking and his thin fur standing on end. He hissed when he saw Lily and his ears flattened to his skull.

Lily just gaped at him.

"He came back ten minutes after you went into the forest," Marlene informed her. Lily just stared, her mouth hanging open. The mangy cat hissed, baring yellowed fangs. He gave Lily one last supercilious look and curled up on Mary's desk, his tail curling around his body. Lily could only whimper, staring at the cat in disbelief.

If cats could have smiled, Fluffy would have been grinning.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: I promise, when I come back and get unpacked, I'll upload a lot of chapters. Thank you for everything. **_

_**Bye for three weeks and thank you once again!**_


	26. Cracks

_**Author's Notes: I got some internet! Yay. I'm really sorry for my extended break but South America in general was **__**amazing. **__**American accents actually sound strange to me now. It's weird. I also have been gone from that I've actually almost forgotten how to work it. **_

_**I'm in Seattle right now and managed to get a signal. I won't be able to update tomorrow and probably not the day after that, but I **_**may**_** be able to update on the third day. I'll try.**_

_**Sorry if this chapter's not very good. I've been writing so much on my trip but I was really distracted by all the amazing things we sailed past. I hope it's all right. Thank you so much for the reviews and to everyone who put up with my little vanishing act.**_

* * *

Lily awoke in the morning with a pounding headache and a throbbing pain in her leg. She moaned and sat up to see that her leg had swollen to the approximate size of a soccer ball. Once Mary was done wailing and Marlene done rolling her eyes, she hopped down to Madam Pomfrey, who was furious.

"What have you done to yourself? You should have come straight to me instead of wandering about the castle. And now look!" she raged, tapping her wand to Lily's ankle. Lily winced as a loud crack rang out and her leg began to return to its normal shape with a horrible hissing noise. It sounded like air being let out of a balloon and she had to look away, her stomach churning at the sight.

Professor McGonagall, if anything, was even worse.

"I cannot _believe _that a Prefect would be so utterly irresponsible!" she said furiously, breathing hard and striding around the office while Lily looked down, her cheeks a flaming red. "If anything of this manner _ever_ happens again, I will personally ensure that you will not be Head Girl and you will receive detentions for a year!"

After her thorough chastising from Professor McGonagall, it was time for Professor Dumbledore.

It was horrible.

He did not shout like Madam Pomfrey, he did not snarl and threaten like Professor McGonagall: he just watched, his face sad and serene. His blue eyes had lost their usual merry twinkle and instead he merely looked grave.

"Explain," he said softly and Lily broke down, pouring out what had happened though she was careful to omit James from her tale. She was already in enough trouble; it wasn't worth it to drag him down with her as well. The teachers just assumed that he had holed up somewhere planning his next mischief making event.

Lily exited the Headmaster's office an hour later, feeling more miserable than she could remember feeling.

"Gave you a scolding, did he? Whap you on the knuckles with a ruler?"

There was a soft chuckle. Lily whirled around to see Sirius leaning against the wall, an indolent smirk playing about on his features. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. He pushed off from the wall, examining her.

"He gave me detention," Lily said miserably, but knowing she had deserved it. Sirius just snorted. "For a month," she added, turning around to walk away. His next words stopped her dead.

"It's better than you deserve. You're a selfish lying hypocrite, Lily."

She froze, then turned around slowly.

"What," she said with deliberate slowness. "Did you just say?"

Sirius smiled once more, but his eyes were colder than ever.

"I just told you that you are someone who thinks of no one but themselves, lies to get others in trouble, and you should follow your own advice sometimes, Queen Lily," Sirius said with a mocking bow. "That _is_ what you want me to call you, isn't? Perhaps Princess to go with your sense of entitlement?"

She gave him a frigid glare and turned on her heel, walking off.

"You're more like your brother than I thought," she called over her shoulder. It was a low blow. She strode toward the corridor ahead, intending to go back to Gryffindor Tower. She never made it.

There was a furious shout from behind her and without warning Lily felt a blaze of white-hot light graze her cheek, snapping her head around. She collapsed to the ground, her body shaking uncontrollably. When she had control once more, she pushed herself to her hands and knees and raised a hand to touch her cheek. Though it felt as though it were on fire, the skin was ice-cold. She glared at Sirius and stood, legs still shaking.

He was furious, his eyes narrowed into slits, his entire body shaking. His wand wasn't even out and she realised he probably didn't mean to hurt her – accidental magic was easy when you were enraged. She gave him a sympathetic look and turned.

"Take a break, Sirius," she called over her shoulder, walking away. "The cracks are beginning to show."

Sirius stood and watched her walk off, his hands shaking furiously, until he finally collapsed and curled into a ball, sobbing, where Peter found him hours later.

* * *

James listened to Peter relay what Sirius told him had happened with disbelief, watching Sirius, who was curled up on his own bed.

"Is this true?" he said finally, turning to Sirius, who rolled over to glare at him.

"Don't you dare," Sirius hissed. James noticed that he was still shaking and his hands were curled into fists. "Don't you dare speak like you're all high and mighty, you _hypocrite."_

"Sirius," Remus said warningly from his seat in the corner, lowering his book. Sirius ignored him, grey eyes fixed on James, his eyes full of something like malice.

James' jaw dropped. When he thought he could speak a bit more rationally, he began to sputter, "W-what? How am I a hypocrite?"

Sirius sat up, still glaring. "Oh," he sneered, and the resemblance to his brother in that moment was uncanny. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

"Now you sound like my mum," James said. "And I haven't got any idea what you're talking about." Sirius gave him a cold look.

"Liar," he hissed before lying back down moodily. James stared at him, mouth hanging open. He turned to Peter, who shrugged, looking bewildered, then to Remus, who just sighed. James stood sharply.

"I'm going for a walk. Sirius, I don't know what your problem is, but you need to _fix it!_" he shouted, yanking open the door. It slammed against the wall with a bang and papers fluttered to the floor. "Call me once you've pulled your head out of your arse," he added over his shoulder, striding from the room and slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"Lily. _Lily_!"

Lily turned in surprise to see Marlene hiding behind a suit of armour, looking shifty. When Marlene saw that she was looking, she quickly beckoned Lily over. Lily approached, curious.

"Come _here_," hissed Marlene. Lily took another step, then Marlene grabbed the front of her robes and yanked her behind the suit of armour.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, pulling her robes free with a scowl.

"I need your help," said Marlene. Lily took a closer look at her and frowned worriedly. Marlene's eyes had dark shadows under them and they looked tired and sunken. Her skin had an odd grayish pallor to it and her hair, which was normally carefully plaited, was clumsily thrown into a very messy ponytail that was tied with what looked like a rubber band. When she saw Lily's shocked expression, she flushed a dark red and self-consciously smoothed her messy robes.

"Lily, I really hate to ask you this, but…" she hesitated.

"Go on," Lily prompted her. Marlene sighed.

"I… just, can you watch Mary tonight? She's driving me mad and I – I just _can't._"

"What?" Lily said confusedly. "What do you mean?"

Marlene frowned and cocked her head.

"You don't – oh. You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Lily asked, frustrated. This seemed to answer Marlene's question and she tipped her head back with a sigh, closing her eyes.

"Mary isn't doing as well as she seems," she said baldly, opening her eyes and looking Lily in the eye. "She wakes up about twenty times a bloody night, sobbing and wailing. I have to rush over and soothe her until she goes to sleep and then it happens again. And again. And _again._ I love Mary, really, she's my best friend, but I'm missing classes and falling asleep everywhere and-"

"Marlene," Lily interrupted. "I'll help… and I'm really sorry – I should have known – Sirius is right," she whispered, looking down. "I really am selfish."

"What's that?" said Marlene, for her keen ears had picked up Lily's whisper. "Don't be ridiculous. You're a Prefect; you have extra work and you got trapped in the forest… you couldn't have known. It's fine. Don't worry about it." She smiled weakly, but Lily just felt worse than ever. She lowered her head.

"I'll definitely help," she promised Marlene. "Poor Mary… I didn't know…"

"I know," said Marlene. "And it's fine, really, but I just _can't _do this anymore; I need a break."

Marlene smiled at Lily and the two of them stepped out from behind the suit of armour, joining a group of chattering Hufflepuffs and hurrying for the entrance hall and out to Herbology. But Lily wasn't paying any attention to the lesson, even when a Venomous Tentacula nearly took off her hand.

How could she have not noticed? Mary and Marlene had both been looking a bit pale and strained, but she assumed that Mary was fine… she laughed all the time, after all… how could she have known?

"Careful, Evans!" cried Professor Sprout as a tendril wrapped around Lily's arm; only by beating the plant with a trowel did it release her. Lily and the rest of the Gryffindors trooped up to the castle for a short break and then to Defense Against the Dark Arts, where Professor Vane was demonstrating how exactly Patronus Charms were conjured.

"Expecto Patronum," Lily said dully, waving her wand, her mind on nothing much but Mary. James and Peter were in the corner, laughing as wisps of silvery smoke whirled around the two. James made a gesture and a vase flew across the room and hit a Ravenclaw on the head. The boy turned to glare at James, who merely grinned back.

"Expecto Patronum!" Mary cried, brandishing her wand so vigorously that it flew out of her hand and hit Remus on the nose, who doubled over as his nose swelled rapidly. Professor Vane quickly restored his nose to normal and set Mary extra practice. Lily glanced around the room. The room was lit by silvery sparks and people were shouting spells, but not with much luck. The most anyone had managed to produce was a flicker of silver that looked vaguely like a dog or small wolf.

"Excellent," the Professor spoke briefly to the excited girl who had conjured it. "Very good. Now, I need you all to concentrate on a memory… the happiest memory you can think of."

The room fell silent and people shuffled around. Lily looked around and saw Mary's face screwed up with concentration, her blonde hair matted to her face. James's eyes were closed while Peter was dancing from foot to foot, his eyes scrunched shut. Lily closed her own eyes and thought.

A happy memory… one of her happiest memories… no flash of happiness sprang to mind, no sudden gleam of insight. She searched her memories… and unbidden, Petunia's face came to the front of her mind. Her sister's long face was not contorted in anger or dislike; she was smiling happily. Lily smiled to herself and raised her wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" she said. A jet of silver light shot out of her wand and she caught sight of an ear, a large eye. Then it faded into darkness. The class was quiet, then people clapped loudly and she grinned.

"Very nice, Miss Evans," Professor Vane said appreciatively. Outside, a bell rang loudly and people immediately dived for their bags. In the scuffle to reach the door, Lily was separated from Marlene. Mary walked by her, still twirling her wand and talking excitedly.

"-that was really great, wasn't it? You did really well, Lily, I'm jealous! All I managed was a bit of smoke and now I have extra practice, but I don't mind. If I'm going to be an Auror, I need to be good at things like this!" Mary babbled as they walked down the corridor. Lily's thoughts came back to earth abruptly and she looked up at her friend.

"What? You want to be an Auror? Since when? I've never heard you talking about wanting to be an Auror," Lily said in surprise. Mary kept her eyes on the ground and said in a low voice,

"I… I need to be able to defend myself and help others, right? I mean, I'm a Muggleborn and – well, there hasn't been any more of those horrible flyers-"Mary gave a little shudder. "-but… it's dangerous… this Voldemort… a family of Muggles was killed the other day, didn't you hear?"

Lily was silent, flicking glances up at Mary occasionally. Her face was set; her jaw clenched slightly. She stared straight ahead, her eyes seeing something beside the corridor and chattering students…

Lily had never really given thought to what she wanted to be once she had left Hogwarts. An Auror… that sounded more like a job for people like James or Sirius; reckless people who jumped into the fray, shouting spells and hoping for the best… it didn't seem at all what timid Mary MacDonald would like to do.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Lily said abruptly. Mary looked over, her eyes widening.

"Y-you do?" she sounded genuinely surprised. Lily laughed.

"You didn't think I'd tell you it was stupid, did you?" Lily said, eyes sparkling. Mary was silent and Lily's jaw dropped. "You _did_ think I'd saw that," she said slowly. Mary flushed a dark red.

"Well, Marlene said it was silly to think of the future so soon and that I shouldn't be unrealistic… I mean, you do have to get really good marks…"

Lily was silent once more. "Sometimes," she said quietly to Mary. "You just need to ignore Marlene. She doesn't think before she speaks."

Mary shrugged. "I know," she said, but Lily thought she looked a bit happier.

Lunch passed in silence, Mary gobbling everything in sight and Lily slowly chewing on a piece of bread, still deep in thought. Only when the bell rang once more did she move. History of Magic seemed to pass slowly, and for once, Lily didn't even attempt to listen or take notes. She laid her head down on her desk and closed her eyes, though she didn't sleep. Sooner than she would have thought, the class was over and they positively sprinted for the door, shoving and pushing to escape the stifling classroom while Professor Binns drifted back through the blackboard.

"Miss Evans!"

Lily turned to see Professor McGonagall chivvying a group of third years past, then crossing the entrance hall to her side.

"Professor?" said Lily as she approached.

"You need - Black, if I see you do that again, it'll be detention for a month," Professor McGonagall shouted over the crowd. "And Fawcett, don't you dare do that to that ferret again!"

"Professor?" Lily repeated curiously. Professor McGonagall returned her attention to Lily.

"Miss Evans, you have detention at six – Fawcett, I told you not to do that! – and Mister Filch needs his trophies cleaned – Black, get away from that suit of armour – get away! – and you will be accompanied by Mister Black, if he does not stop trying to shove that first year into the suit of armour," said Professor McGonagall with a baleful look across the hall. Lily nodded.

"Yes, Professor," she said. Professor McGonagall surveyed her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Evans, but I can't imagine what possessed you to wander about the Forbidden Forest," she said before turning and hurrying toward Sirius, who was now terrorizing a group of first years while the suit of armour creaked with wheezy laughter behind him.

* * *

James stared at Professor Cassandra, fighting the urge to look at the anxiously shifting boy beside him. The woman had insisted that they be paired together to "clear the terrible vibes in the air…"

James, of course, thought this was ridiculous and by the tutting noises Sirius kept making, so did he.

"This is stupid," James said finally, turning to look at Sirius, who was looking everywhere but him. "Just tell me your dream, all right?"

"I dreamed you got eaten by a giant marshmallow," said Sirius, still not looking at him. James scowled.

"Sirius…"

"Okay fine, I dreamed I was the prince of butterflies," Sirius snapped, finally turning to look at him. James gave him a look and Sirius rolled his eyes with an exaggerated movement. "I dreamed I was playing chess with Peter, but he was a manticore," he said grudgingly. James raised an eyebrow.

"I can't control my dreams!" Sirius snapped while James made a note in his notebook. "Let's see how _your _dreams are, eh?"

James smiled blissfully. "I dreamed that I was in Lily's dormitory-"

"Oh Merlin, no more," said Sirius, holding up his hands. "Do you have any that _don't _feature Evans?"

James scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there was one about… two years ago…"

Sirius's head hit the table with a loud thunk.

* * *

Thirty minutes later and it was as if there had never been an argument between the two boys. Sirius and James were laughing uproariously while Sirius relayed a story.

"And then," Sirius gasped out, tears of laughter running down his face. "He realised she was standing behind him the whole time."

James doubled over, clutching his chest. Professor Cassandra was observing the boys from a corner, the tips of her fingers pressed together as though she were praying, a peaceful smile on her face. Students were trying to ignore the two and work, but not very successfully: James kept collapsing in gales of laughter and Sirius kept flicking bits of parchment at the back of their heads. Finally, the bell rang and students filed out of the room.

James caught a glimpse of fiery red hair from across the room and grinned brilliantly.

"Just a moment," he said to Sirius. "I'm going to woo Lily with my suave powers of-"

"Idiocy?" Sirius suggested. James pressed a hand over his heart as though he had been mortally wounded and gave Sirius a horrified look.

"Idiocy? Me? James Potter, most handsome man ever to set foot in Hogwarts?" James said in astonishment, feigning horror. He pressed a hand to his forehead and swayed dramatically. "Why Padfoot, I am crushed, stunned, miserable…" he paused to think of more words and when he couldn't he collapsed. "I am mortally wounded… give all my belongings to Lily-Flower," he rasped out before a dramatic rattling gasp. His eyes rolled up in his head and he lay still.

Sirius fell to his knees at his side, face mournful. "James died as he lived," he announced to the growing crowd around him. "A raving lunatic."

James, despite being 'dead', reached up and smacked Sirius, who took this as provocation to leap at him and begin a wrestling match in the middle of the entrance hall. Students gathered around them, cheering, some even betting on the outcome.

"Fight!" someone shouted in the Great Hall and people came crowding out to watch. James finally managed to flip Sirius over and pin him to the ground with his arms uncomfortably wrenched behind him.

"Do you give up?" James asked him. Sirius's only response was to wriggle more fiercely and spit at James, who just laughed. Sirius managed to wiggle free and a sharp blow sent James falling. The two boys fought more fiercely than ever.

* * *

Lily watched the two boys thrash about on the ground. James's glasses were cracked and Sirius was sporting a black eye but they were both laughing.

"Two to one on James!" Marlene called out. She was swarmed seconds later by students eager to bet.

"Really," Lily said loftily as with one final blow, Sirius dramatically collapsed and James climbed to his feet, arms held in the air. Students cheered and clapped him on the back, but James had eyes for only one person.

Lily bit back a groan as James approached her, smiling widely at her and exposing gleaming teeth. His handsome face was splattered with a bit of blood and his nose was bleeding, but he looked as cheerful as ever.

"My lovely Lily," he said with a deep bow. He got to his knees and took her hand, kissing it. Lily tried to pull away but his grip was too strong and she was forced to stand there awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and hoping James would go away soon. He kneeled in front of her. "Beautiful Lily, none can compare to your loveliness!" he cried. Lily was quite sure she was blushing.

"You are like an oasis in the desert, an island paradise in the ocean, a pearl among clams!" James said, smiling up at her. Her heart gave a funny thump, but she pulled once more on her hand, but he resisted. His display was not quite over yet.

"My gorgeous vision of beauty and health, goddess Aphrodite-"

"You know who that is?" Lily said in disbelief. James ignored her, his hazel eyes fixed on her green ones.

"Loveliest of them all, fair Lily, would you deign to accompany me on a trip to the pleasant town of Hogsmeade?" James finally finished, beaming up at her. Though it felt a little cruel, Lily shook her head and stared sternly down at him.

"I would _not _deign," she said firmly, snatching her hand back and turning on her heel. Students all around were beginning to disperse and she easily cut through the lingering crowd. James followed her like a particularly annoying and clingy fly that continued to buzz in her ear. She longed to smack this particular fly away, but he continued to chatter at her.

"But Lily, my gorgeous-"

"I'm not your anything," Lily interrupted, changing paths and hurrying toward the dungeons, hoping he wouldn't follow her. No luck.

"But Lily," he said in astonishment as she suddenly turned and strode toward the marble staircase. "Please, Lily, can you just tell me why?" Perhaps it was because his voice was so pleading; perhaps it was because it felt rather harsh to turn him down so sharply, but she turned around. He looked astonished at her capitulation.

"Because," she said patiently. "you're immature, you hex my former best friend, you think you're far better than you really are, and you have a head so large it _constantly _amazes me that you can even get off the ground."

James blinked. "But Lily," he protested. "I'm maturing! I helped you in the forest, I helped with Mary and that creep, Mulciber, and I was mature when those propaganda flyers were around…"

Lily was forced to admit that was true, but she wasn't exactly going to tell James that. "Well, what about my other points?" she said in triumph. "If you can thoroughly refute them, I _might _take a walk around the lake with you. I repeat might." She was certain he couldn't. James wasn't exactly the fastest broom in the shed.

James looked as though Christmas had come early. He beamed at her. "Lily-"

"Potter," she said in tones of forced patience. "Evans. Call me Evans."

He sighed. "Evans," he said slowly. "I haven't hexed old Sniv- I mean Snape," he added hastily at the look on her face. "I haven't hexed Snape in… months? Has it really been that long?" he said in astonishment, more to himself than to her, but she didn't hear. She was mentally calculating how long it had been since he had cursed Snape… she couldn't remember anything… she was starting to feel rather anxious now.

_Come on, James,_ she silently urged him. _Slip up. I'm not going with you, I'm not._

"And Lil- Evans, I know I'm not _that _great. I mean, sure I'm great at Quidditch and Transfiguration, not to mention Muggle Studies – oh, and Care of Magical Creatures – ooh, and I'm good at Defense Against the Dark Arts-" he stopped at the look on her face.

"I mean," he said slowly. "I might be good at some things, but I'm not the best, and other things I'm terrible at. Like Potions – you should hear old Slughorn go on about you! You'd think you cured dragon pox the way he goes on about you. I'm awful at Potions… and Charms… well, that's a disaster," James scuffed his feet uncomfortably at the marble floor.

With horror, she realised that he was good – better than she'd thought. _Oh, we'll see if I underestimate you again,_ she thought, eyeing him. He looked remarkably innocent, big smile and lopsided glasses. But she knew better than that.

"And about my head…" he scratched at his head and ran a hand through his hair. She watched him struggle with a feeling of vindictive satisfaction.

_Hah, _she thought. _I'm not going with you, I'm definitely not._

"Well, I'm pretty sure my head is average sized," James said with a grin. She looked at him and he beamed back. "Well, what time do you want to go walking?"

_Oh no_, she thought. _Oh definitely not. I'm not going, I'm not, I'm not… no, no, no._

"B-but," she spluttered. "You – I-"

"Come on, Evans!" James said with an earnest smile that looked far too sweet and innocent for the conniving soul she was sure lay just beneath the surface. "I've been great for weeks and weeks, not one horrible thing. I'm mature and not too big headed, and I've been almost… _nice,_" he pulled a face. "To the Slytherins… so, how about it?"

_No,_ she repeated in her head. _This is not happening. It isn't. No. I'm dreaming. No, that would be worse – how would I explain to Professor Cassandra that I dreamed of James _Potter_. Rumors would spread and soon people would think we ran off to elope… no, I'm not dreaming._

"Lily?" James said uncertainly.

_I'm definitely not underestimating you again_, she thought, eyeing him once more. _Why do I make such stupid deals? Stupid, stupid…_

"Tomorrow morning," she said. "Early." _So no one sees me with James Potter,_ she added in her head.

James's responding grin was the most brilliant yet. She walked back to Gryffindor Tower in a daze, wondering how exactly she had managed to get herself into this mess. Behind her, she could hear James whooping loudly.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Thanks again, everyone.**_


	27. Newspapers

_**Author's Notes**_: _**I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner but I was really sick. I hope this chapter is all right and I'm sorry if it isn't very good. Thank you for your reviews. I love to hear what you think. Thanks.**_

* * *

Lily got up early the next morning, yawning so hard her jaw cracked loudly. She felt exhausted. Mary had kept her up most of the night and only when the sun began to peek up from beyond the horizon did she drift off into fitful sleep. She dressed in her warmest robes, putting on a scarf and gloves, trying to put her hat on her foot before she realised it wasn't a sock. Finally, when all articles of clothing were on the right body part, she ambled down the stairs, still yawning.

Gryffindor common room was still empty, though a fire flickered low in the grate. Bits of paper and abandoned quills littered the room. Fluffikins was curled up on one of the squashy armchairs. He eyed her and she him, then he stood with a yawn, stretched, and leapt off the chair to trot toward the girls' dormitories.

Lily sat down in the chair recently vacated and sat, waiting. It was almost ten minutes before James arrived, and she was nodding off in the chair.

"Good morning!" James sang as he took the stairs two at a time. She jerked to her feet, her wand in her hand almost instantly. When she saw it was just James, she relaxed and let out another jaw-cracking yawn.

"H-hello," she said, stifling yet another yawn. She rubbed at her eyes tiredly and scowled half-heartedly at James, who looked far too exuberant for so early in the morning.

"Lily!" he said cheerily. She gave him a dark look, then followed him out the portrait hole. Outside, the air was misty; a thick chill hung in the air. Even for early December, it was rather cold and Lily shivered as they descended the stairs. James took off his coat and offered it to her.

"No, you'll f-freeze," she said, shivering slightly. He shot her another cocky smile.

"I'll be fine," he said, handing it to her. She took it reluctantly, gave him a look, then put it on. He smirked at her. "That wasn't hard, now was it?"

"Watch it, Potter," Lily said, though without her normal venom. She yawned again and the two set off across the grounds, dew soaking their socks and shoes, thick mist blocking their view. For a while, they were silent as they concentrating on not tripping over their own feet. Finally, they reached the lake.

Lily and James stood at the edge of the lake, staring out across the water. The lake was a gunmetal grey, smooth and without a ripple. Mist swirled over it, lending a mysterious cast to the icy waters. The giant squid was lurking just below the surface, its tentacles swaying lazily in the shallows.

"Do you want to go swimming?" James asked after a minute. She shot him an appalled look.

"No! It's freezing in there!" she said. He laughed and the sound echoed around the silent grounds. A few birds flew from the trees in the Forbidden Forest, twittering loudly.

"Well, if you don't fancy freezing your feet off, want to walk around?" he said.

"That I can do," Lily said. He held out a hand and after a moment of looking at it suspiciously, she took it, though very gingerly. They began to walk around the edge of the lake, James humming under his breath while Lily tried not to freeze.

"So… how have you been, Lily? Doing well with your classes? Got any detentions recently?"

"I have detention for a month," she answered glumly. "I went to one just last night. It was dreadful. I was with Sirius and he kept scowling at me and 'accidently' knocking things over onto the trophies so I had to polish them even more. Filch and his stupid cat lurked around too, just watching… he calls her 'his sweet', did you know that? I think he's mad."

James laughed. "Oh, he's definitely mad," he said carelessly, swinging the arm Lily wasn't holding. "Sirius reckons he thinks he's married to her. Keeps going on about it."

"Mm," said Lily in reply. They walked in silence for a few more minutes.

"How's Mary doing?" James suddenly said.

"Not well," Lily muttered, kicking at the dewy grass. "She woke up last night and about gored me with her wand. Thought I was… _him_." She gave James a meaningful look and he winced.

"You could send her to that Ministry witch that's been poking around," he suggested. She gave him a blank look.

"What do you mean? Ministry witch?" Lily asked curiously. High above, a bird shrieked, but she didn't take her eyes off James.

"Oh, some woman from the Ministry," said James with a careless shrug. "With all those flyers saying 'Death to Mudbloods' and things like that, you didn't expect Dumbledore to keep quiet, did you? But the Ministry didn't really care about that; they just offered a bit of advice, just telling students to stay in after night. But when Mary got… hurt, Dumbledore had to report it, didn't he?" said James, gazing out across the lake. "Some witch has been poking around the castle. She's a bit… odd, though."

"What do you mean?" asked Lily, who couldn't believe she hadn't known about something _yet again._

"Well, when she looks at you, it's like she doesn't really see you… like she's looking straight through you. It's creepy. She had Peter in for a session-"

"Session?" Lily interrupted curiously. James sighed gustily.

"Yeah, session. She takes students in to ask them a bunch of questions. She's had Peter and Remus in. She terrified Peter out of his wits."

"That's horrible!" said Lily, who was appalled. "She shouldn't be using her authority to scare students!"

"Well, from what Peter said, she's not. She's just… creepy."

Lily frowned. "Why haven't I been called in?" she wondered out loud.

"Well, you're a Muggleborn yourself," James said reasonably. "No one would really think you'd attack another Muggleborn and put up those stupid flyers. Mary is your friend! Honestly, no one who knows you would ever think that."

She shot him a grateful smile and he grinned back. The sun was rising above when they finally returned to the castle. It hadn't exactly been a romantic stroll, which Lily was rather glad about. She wasn't sure she'd fancy a moonlit stroll around the grounds with Potter.

"Well… bye," James said, hovering at the top of the stairs and looking at her uncertainly. Lily waved and he halfheartedly walked up the stairs, throwing glances over his shoulder at her every few seconds. Lily entered the entrance hall after him, a chilly wind blowing her hair into her face. When she had finally clawed it out of her eyes, she was confronted by a group of girls in which a short red-head Lily vaguely recognised nervously danced from foot to foot, then shot out of the group at Lily.

"Cassie?" Lily said in surprise. She hadn't seen the girl for a long time.

"Lily," Cassie said in return. She didn't look quite as nervous as normal. Her jaw was squared and her face determined. She glared at Lily with such venom Lily automatically took a step back and turned, but one of the other girls had blocked her way. She looked back to see that they had formed a vaguely threatening ring around her. Her hand found her wand in her sleeve, though she didn't pull it out.

"How are you?" Lily said in a friendly way, but she was very aware of the way the three girls were eyeing her.

"Me? Never mind me, you _hag. _You boyfriend-stealing _brat."_

Lily blinked in shock at the accusations. "Boyfriend?" she said.

"Yes, boyfriend!" Cassie shrilled, hands flapping furiously. "What exactly were you doing out there with James?"

"Snogging him, no doubt," one of the other girls added nastily. Lily scowled at her. The girl was tall and pretty, with blonde hair cut into a bob.

"Definitely," the last girl said. Lily took a good look at her so that she would know who to avoid in the corridors. She was short, with long brunette hair that was elegantly plaited. A butterfly clip held her hair in place.

"I was _not_," Lily said with such strength that the girls took a step back. "I would rather kiss the giant squid, thank you." She tried to sidestep Cassie, but the girls closed ranks around her and she folded her arms and glared at them. Cassie was wringing her hands again.

"James is my boyfriend," she squeaked. "Keep your hands off him!"

"Or we'll cut them off for you," added the brunette girl. Lily wasn't foolish enough to take their threats seriously, but they would almost certainly spread rumors that Lily had kissed James, and she definitely couldn't have that.

"You know what we did?" Lily said, and the girls leaned forward almost automatically, eager faces focused on her. "I told James to come out with me-"Cassie squeaked but one of the girls shushed her. "And I tried to drown him in the lake."

Lily almost laughed at their faces. Cassie looked as if someone had slapped her, the blonde's mouth was hanging open unattractively, and the brunette looked suspicious and confused in equal measures.

"So I'll be going now," Lily said, sidestepping Cassie. This time, the girls didn't try to stop her.

* * *

"James Potter!" a voice called. "James Potter, please come to my office."

James turned, grinning already. His friends must have pulled some joke without him and Professor McGonagall wanted to scold him again. His smile faded as he was confronted with the witch from the Ministry. Her face was hard and cold as stone, her blonde hair was in a plait that was more functional that pretty, and she held a clipboard in her hands. Her fingernails were painted blood-red.

"You are Mister James Potter?" she said as he approached, struggling through the many students. He nodded. She smiled, though her blue eyes remained as cold as ever. "My name is Katelyn Moss. You may call me Kate. I'm from the Ministry and I would like to ask you a few questions, just to get to know you. This way," she said without even checking that he was following. She cut effortlessly through the throngs of students until they had reached an empty classroom that she was using as an office.

"Inside," she said, holding open the door and ushering him in. James took an uncertain step inside and heard the click of the lock behind him as she followed and closed the door behind her. Her high heels clicked against the floor and James shifted uneasily.

"Sit," she said, pointing one of her red-tipped fingers at a chair in front of the desk. It was not an invitation; it was an order. She watched impassively as he sat down, still feeling very uncomfortable. She smiled, but it did nothing to sooth his nerves.

"As I said, I am Katelyn, but call me Kate."

"Okay, Miss Kate," he said, watching her shuffle some papers. She looked up after a moment.

"Now, I'm certain you have heard about the recent attacks on those labeled Muggleborns."

James nodded, though it had not been a question. She smiled coolly.

"Excellent. I'm going to ask some rudimentary questions; very simple ones. You need only answer yes or no. Am I clear?" her voice was stern, one that was accustomed to giving orders and them being obeyed at once.

"Er… sure," said James, running a hand through his hair and fixing a cocky smile on his face. She consulted her papers for a moment, tapping it with a scarlet nail.

"Your name is James Potter, correct?"

"Yes," said James, still unnerved but doing his best not to show it. She scribbled a mark on the sheaf of paper.

"Your father is Charlus Potter and your mother is Dorea Potter, formerly Black?"

"Y-yes," James answered, surprised at her knowledge.

"You are friends with three boys, Remus Lupin," she pronounced his name with a kind of disgust and James's frown deepened. "Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."

"Yes."

"Your headmaster is Albus Dumbledore."

"Yes," James answered more easily. He was relaxing. These questions were simple, easy, and required not a second's thought. The woman, Kate, smiled once more, but her eyes were like chips of ice.

"Your deputy headmistress and Transfiguration teacher is Minerva McGonagall, cat Animagus?"

"Yes," said James, stifling a yawn. He checked his watch covertly as she made a mark on the papers. He sighed. He could be planning something horrible for the Slytherins and instead he was answered childish questions that even a first year would know.

"You are acquaintances with Lily Evans, a Muggleborn girl."

"Yep," James said, wondering if this would be over soon. He was bored and it was easy to simply say yes over and over again.

"Have you participated, helped, or in any way contributed to the attacks on Muggleborn students?"

"Yes," James answered before his brain caught up with his mouth. He spluttered furiously. "I mean – no! Definitely not – I wouldn't – _no!_"

Kate's blood-red lips curved into a smile once more.

"How did it go?" asked Sirius when James returned almost an hour later, shoulders slumped. He tossed his bag at the bed and missed; it fell to the ground where it slumped dismally. A book spilled out and pages ripped. James collapsed on his bed.

"Terrible," James answered gloomily. "She kept tricking me into saying things I didn't mean and I kept stumbling over my words, and she kept bloody _smiling _and she kept marking on her paper and – and…" his breath was coming faster and faster. "And I kept getting confused and saying yes when I meant no and – ugh… it was awful."

"Sorry," Sirius said in a vaguely sympathetic way. Remus set his book to the side and looked up, his face dark.

"She's awful, isn't she?" he said in a low voice, glancing around as if expecting Kate to leap from behind the curtains. "She _knew._ She knew I was a werewolf and she kept sneering at me. She tried to trap me into saying that I attacked Muggleborns but I managed not to say anything too horrible."

"Bloody great," said James in a muffled voice, for he had buried his face in his pillow. "I can just see tomorrow's headlines. 'Son of exalted Auror Charlus Potter is a Death Eater supporter and recently tortured Muggleborns.' Urgh…"

"It won't be that bad," Remus said in a comforting voice.

James wished he could believe him.

* * *

It _was_ that bad.

That morning, when all of the students had meandered down to the Great Hall for breakfast, great shouts of laughter kept breaking out from the Slytherin table. Professor Dumbledore looked dark, the tips of his fingers pressed together as he observed his students. Beside him, Minerva McGonagall's thin lips were pressed together and she kept shooting the Slytherins dark glances.

When James entered, it was to loud boos and more laughter. A Slytherin boy stood up and shouted, "Good job, Potter, I never thought you had it in you!" and sat back to gales of laughter.

James cocked his head curiously. The students at the Gryffindor table had turned to glare mutinously at James, so that he felt as though he were held in the beam of a spotlight. Remus was sitting down, sipping at some pumpkin juice while glaring darkly at the paper in his hands. James had a strong feeling of foreboding as he approached to Gryffindor table to hisses and boos from several people.

Lily stood out particularly in the crowd, perhaps due to her fiery hair. She was not booing or scowling, but she looked upset. She smiled weakly at him from across the crowd and he grinned back, then sat down next to Remus.

"What's wrong?" he asked apprehensively. Without a word, Remus passed the _Daily Prophet_ to James and his mouth fell open as he read.

_Son of ex-Auror Charlus Potter, Death Eater supporter._

A picture of James looking extremely shifty and uncomfortable was directly under the title. The letters were massive andbold. James stared at them and his mouth fell open. Remus tapped him on the shoulder, but he couldn't tear his gaze from the letters… he had been more right than he had expected.

He ripped open the paper, tearing it, and began to read.

_Charlus Potter was once a highly respected Auror. He was an avid hater of the Dark Arts and fought them all his life, so it will come as a surprise that his own son, one James Potter, is exclusively revealed to be a supporter of the group known as 'Death Eaters', writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. These Death Eaters are thought to be responsible for dozens of deaths and are known for their hatred of Muggles. _

_James Potter, in an interview with a Ministry worker, recently revealed his hate toward Muggleborns and Muggles._

"_Yeah," he says as the Ministry worker questions him, curious about his involvement in recent events. "I really hate Muggleborns. They're dirty beasts who should go back to the caves they come from."_

"Rubbish," whispered James, but he couldn't look away.

_But why is young Master Potter so vigorously opposed to witches and wizards of Muggle descent?_

"_Have you seen them?" he says with an unpleasant laugh. "They're dirty things, filthy and stupid."_

_When his father was mentioned, Master Potter grew very uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. Recently at Hogwarts, young Muggleborns have been targeted in a series of attacks so heinous, the Ministry worker that revealed all can barely speak of them._

"_A girl was tortured," she says briefly. "Cruciatus curse."_

_The Cruciatus curse, as most of our readers will know, is a curse that causes its victims the most excruciating pain of their life. The sentence for such a horrific crime is a life-time sentence in Azkaban. But was the younger Potter involved?_

"_Oh, he told me he had been involved in the horrible deeds," says the Ministry worker who refuses to be identified._

_But will the younger Potter defy his family and join the organization known only as Death Eaters? _

_Only time will tell…_

"This is rubbish!" shouted James, ripping the paper in half and standing. The Great Hall went very quiet. "You can't believe this! They're lying! This is ridiculous! You – you can't _honestly _believe this."

But the way the students looked down and avoided his eyes told him exactly what they believed.

"No. No! I would never – I wouldn't – _no_!"

Lily stood abruptly and strode toward him.

"I believe Potter," she announced to the school. "Whatever his faults, his idiocy, his bigheadedness, his-"James cleared his throat and she blushed. "As I was saying, whatever his faults, Potte- James is no Death Eater."

"He isn't," piped up Mary, who was looking very nervous and half hiding behind Lily. "I was being hurt and…" for a second she trailed off and James, turning, saw Mulciber with his eyes locked on hers, a smile on his face. Mary straightened up and raised her head. "James came. He saved me from him," Mary pointed at Mulciber and he lost his smile.

"Yeah, James might be an idiot, but he's not one of those monsters," Marlene said, standing up and striding to James's side. As one, Sirius, Remus, and Peter got up from their chairs to stand next to James, their glares daring anyone to say anything.

"I believe James!" Cassie squealed from her table. James did his best to ignore her. Professor McGonagall stood and walked over to them, then turned to face the students.

"I can personally vouch for Mister Potter. While he is terrible about turning in his schoolwork on time, he would never be one of those… people. Now," she barked, glaring around at the students. "Finish your breakfast and hurry to your lessons! You have less than five minutes."

Before she strode back to her own table, James saw her smile very slightly at him, incline her head, then turn and stride off. James looked around at the group of people surrounding him, feeling a rush of gratitude. He opened his mouth to thank them, but found he couldn't speak.

They seemed to understand anyhow.


	28. Owls

_**Author's Notes**_:_** Now that I'm back, I'm going to be updating every three days once again – barring real life getting in the way. I can't thank the people that have reviewed or even just read my story enough. **_

_**I have two questions though. I'm rather worried about something. I would like to know if you think my story is cliché. I've tried really hard not to be terribly clichéd but I'm afraid I might have done it inadvertently. **_

_**Also, what I've written on the trip but not yet put up amounts to around a 100,000 words. I'm a bit concerned that I'm getting overly wordy and long. Do you think I should end this fic at the end of sixth year and start another one for seventh year? I promise that if I did do that, there would be (at most) only a week or so between the stop of one and the start of the next fic. **_

_**I would truly appreciate feedback on what you think.**_

_**Thank you all so much!**_

* * *

The next week passed with no incidents, unless you counted a girl accidentally turning herself and her entire class into badgers. The days passed, growing steadily colder. Students huddled next to fireplaces whenever they could and shivered in lessons. Everyone hated Potions, as they had to spend hours in the dungeons, which were already normally cold. Now they were positively frigid.

The Quidditch match, Gryffindor against Slytherin, ended in an exciting catch from the Gryffindor seeker when the Slytherin seeker apparently lost his head completely and dive-bombed the stands. The resulting party in Gryffindor common room took five hours to break up completely.

For a while, James was happy. No one was quoting the article at him, at least not more than once. Sirius, Peter, and Remus seemed to have made it their personal duty to protect James and they surrounded him in the corridors, sending menacing glares at all who dared approach.

Lily shot occasional bracing smiles at him and Marlene clapped him on the back whenever they passed. Mary seemed to have lost some of her fear about Mulciber and spent lunch ignoring his glare and chatting unconcernedly to her friends, though James spotted her shivering at times when it was quite warm.

For a while, things were just about perfect.

The morning on Tuesday, James woke up and tried to remember why he had such a feeling of foreboding. He'd had a dream… something about his father and Lily, who seemed to be arguing… or maybe they were laughing… it was all blurry now. His mother had definitely been there…

He rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He shoved his glasses on and wandered out to breakfast, wondering where his friends were. They were no longer in the dormitory. Breakfast in the Great Hall was excellent as usual, and James had just reached for another plate of eggs when with a rustling sound, hundreds of owls swooped in.

He saw Lily catching a small owl that zoomed excitedly around her before falling into a pitcher of orange juice. She fished it out, looking as unconcerned as if it were a normal event, chatting to her friends. A massive Great Horned Owl circled the ceiling once before swooping down to land next to James, who looked at it in surprise.

"Hi," he said to it, offering it a bit of bacon. It apparently preferred the taste of fingers, however, and nipped him before flying off. "Blood bird," he said, watching it go. A bit of smoke drifted past him and he turned to see a scarlet envelope lying on the table. He blanched.

He had only seconds to grab it, crumple it up, and sprint out of the Great Hall, where it promptly exploded.

* * *

"JAMES POTTER, I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ASHAMED OF YOU IN MY LIFE!"

Lily winced as James's mother's shrill voice drifted in through the doors. The Slytherins were laughing, but most of the others weren't. They listened with interest as James's mother screamed at him for a while before finally her voice faded into the distance as James ran for it.

"Whooore," said Lily's owl, swooping around her and nipping her ear.

"The same to you," Lily said, feeding it a dusty Owl Treat she found in her pocket. She yawned and checked her schedule. "Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration," she read. "Brilliant."

"Ooh," Mary said suddenly from beside her. "Look."

Lily turned. A handsome, curly-haired boy was standing from the Ravenclaw table and walking over to her with an engaging smile.

"Shove off," Marlene muttered under her breath, but the boy didn't hear her. He approached Lily, smiling at her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she returned, looking at him interestedly. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. It was a pleasant smile.

"I was just wondering whether you'd like to go to Hogsmeade next weekend," said the boy, smiling at her. Marlene muttered something under her breath but Lily ignored her.

"Whooore," said Lily's owl.

"Shut up," Lily hissed at it as the boy blinked in surprise.

"Did your owl just…"

"Yes and yes," she said. The boy beamed at her, then turned and returned to the Ravenclaw table. Lily turned away from her friends with a small and rather happy smile. Marlene looked as though she had just been hit over the head.

* * *

James did not return until midway through Defense Against the Dark Arts, when he burst through the door, panting.

"Mister Potter," said Professor Vane in surprise, lowering his wand. "So kind of you to join us."

"Sorry," gasped James. "I got delayed."

"Very well, get your wand out," said the professor, raising his wand again. "We're practicing Patroni again."

"Oh, excellent," James said enthusiastically. He managed to stand next to Lily, who was attempting to perfect the movement of her wrist.

"It's less of a jab," Professor Vane told her. Lily nodded and tried it again. "Perfect!" he said. He turned to James. "Mister Potter?"

James tried, he really did. Years later, he still couldn't explain _exactly _how he managed to simultaneously set Professor Vane's hair on fire, vanish Lily's robes, and also turn Marlene into a very angry cat that immediately sprung at him, claws outstretched.

* * *

An hour later, James was still sitting in the hospital wing, wincing as Madam Pomfrey applied a stinging potion to the cuts Marlene had inflicted.

"Ouch!" he said, wincing as she dabbed potion on a particularly large cut. Madam Pomfrey tutted.

"Mister Potter, I haven't the faintest idea what you've been up to, but I advise you not to do it again."

"It was Marlene," he tried to explain. "She was a cat and she clawed at my face while-"

"Mister Potter!" Madam Pomfrey looked quite alarmed. "I don't want to hear about your… exploits."

For a minute, James sat, feeling rather confused, then he realised. "Oh Merlin, no, that's not what I meant – I mean, that did happen, but-"

"Mister Potter, please. I deal with enough… strange injuries already; I have no need of a detailed story of how the injuries came to be. Students will try anything," she muttered, reaching into a container for some cooling salve.

Feeling distinctly disturbed and slightly ill, James exited the hospital wing with a thick coat of salve plastered to his face, neck, and arms. Marlene had been merciless.

"Looks painful," she said unrepentantly once he had entered Herbology, wincing frequently and touching his cheek. He gave her an evil look. Lily elbowed Marlene in the ribs, face working to conceal her laughter. She gave up as a plant reached out a tendril and yanked on his hair hard. He let out a shrill yelp and clawed furiously at it.

"Mister Potter, that is a very precious plant," cried Professor Sprout as the plant fought hard to strangle him and he fought equally hard to beat it to a pulp. The Gryffindors left an hour later, James covered in bite marks, scratches, cuts, smudges of dirt, and thin red lines around his neck from where the plant had tried to throttle him.

"Don't laugh," he hissed to Remus as he sat down next to him in the Great Hall.

"I wasn't going to," Remus said calmly as Sirius sat down beside James, laughing about something.

"I just hexed Snivelly's hair off," he crowed. James laughed and looked over at the Slytherin table where Snape was skulking, apparently trying hard not to be seen. A discrete flick of his wand and a spotlight glowed down on him, illuminating him. Curious students turned to look at the source of the light. Another flick and Snape began waltzing with an invisible partner while his robes started to split at the seams, threatening to fall.

"Oh dear Merlin, don't do that," said Sirius in alarm. "No one needs the sight of Snivelly's skinny legs."

James laughed and flicked his wand once more. Snape leapt on the table and began to do a provocative dance.

"Eurgh," said Peter, who was watching in fascinated disgust. Students were laughing and pointing at Snape. James felt quite glad that Lily wasn't there. Somehow, he thought she _might_ object to this. Sirius waved his wand and Snape began do a series of high kicks that left him wincing in pain. Even as his legs moved, his mouth was working furiously, spewing out a mixture of spells and Muggle curses in equal measure.

"What a filthy mouth," said James, watching in amusement. "I think he needs his mouth cleaned out again. Apparently he hasn't learned his lesson. Scourgify," he said and Snape began to froth at the mouth, pink bubbles sliding down his chin and mouth as he choked. Sirius laughed cruelly.

The teachers were working furiously on removing Snape from the table, but he seemed almost glued to table. He had begun to waltz again and he nearly fell off the table. Students were laughing still even as Snape screamed with fury and embarrassment.

"Honestly, Snivelly," James muttered, turning away from Snape. "You scream like a girl."

* * *

"Glisseo!"

As Snape climbed the staircase several hours later, still wincing every time he took a step, it dissolved into a slide and he went tumbling back, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom. Sirius sniggered unpleasantly while Peter doubled over, pressing his hand to his mouth to stop from bursting out laughing. Remus managed to look disapproving even as he flicked his wand again. The stairs returned to normal and Snape sat up, staring at them cautiously.

He tested it, putting one foot on the bottom step, then another. Soon he was climbing the stairs with renewed confidence, apparently convinced that it had been a onetime occurrence.

"Glisseo," James whispered, waving his wand. Snape let out an undignified screech and fell back, sliding and skidding around. The Marauders collapsed with laughter once more as Snape limped off, his teeth gritted.

He couldn't go anywhere without ascending a staircase and it was with extreme caution that he tested the next one. He sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could, but James was faster.

"Glisseo!"

Snape went flying back the stairs, legs wiggling in the air absurdly as he toppled. He heaved himself to his feet, hissing curses under his breath. The four boys followed him as Snape limped off, head turning this way and that so fast it looked as though he had a crick in his neck. This time he didn't bother testing the stairs; he just ran as fast as he could up the steps, but Peter was quick and a whispered spell sent him tumbling back down.

The Marauders cackled as Snape limped away, hissing curses at everything he saw.

* * *

"POTTER!"

James and his three friends turned around slowly, each of smiling widely and innocently so that they looked even more guilty than ever. Lily was standing at the top of a staircase, her hands on her hips. She approached, face red with fury.

"Potter, what's this I've been hearing about dancing Slytherins and collapsing staircases? This has something to do with you, I know it! Tell the truth, Potter!" Lily ranted, her fists clenched. James grinned at her.

"Well, if the Slytherins have the sudden inclination to dance, that's not my-"

"Don't lie, Potter!" Lily said furiously. Sirius, Peter, and Remus began to sidle back but Lily, who was focused on James, didn't notice. She poked a finger at him.

"You've been cursing them, haven't you? You go on about how mature you are and days later you're back to cursing random people again. I don't know why I bother, Potter, I really don't." Lily gave him one last glare and strode off.

"Thanks, mates," James said furiously a half hour later when he had walked back to Gryffindor Tower alone. Sirius grinned unrepentantly at him, shoveling Chocolate Frogs into his mouth by the dozen.

"Sorry," he said, looking quite as though he weren't. "But I thought you could deal with her-"

"Liar," said James, flopping down on his bed and burying his face in his pillow, breathing hard. "She almost took my head off."

* * *

The lunch that day was particularly good, in James's opinion, probably owing to the fact that Snape was sulking somewhere and hadn't come down. He sat with a group of Gryffindors, relaying the story of how Snape looked when he fell down the staircase to uproarious laughter. They departed for lessons in high spirits.

Herbology was particularly miserable. They were still learning how to deal with Venomous Tentaculas and the young plants were teething. James's plant managed to grab a chunk of hair and pull so that he was dragged across the table, scattering dirt and trowels everywhere, sending students flying out of the way. The plant only released him when Professor Sprout managed to slice off the tip of the tendril. The plant retreated, strands of black hair still clutched in its tendril. James could have sworn it waved mockingly at him as he retreated, still glaring at the plant.

Divination was little better. Professor Cassandra misted around the room, staring out the windows and occasionally informing the students about the weather patterns while they yawned and covertly checked their watches. They spent the hour bored, in pain (in James's case), and feeling rather stupid with the fumes from the fire.

James spent most of the History of Magic lesson bored and sleepy in equal measures. Lily was looking attentively at Professor Binns and scribbling notes; but every few minutes she turned to glare at him. He spent the lesson gazing at the back of her head, admiring the way the sun reflected off her dark-red hair. She caught him staring several times and made rude gestures whenever she did.

Potions class was terrible. James managed to melt his cauldron, accidently trip a girl and send her and her cauldron flying across the room, set Sirius's hair on fire, much to his horror, and accidently fall into his own cauldron. He spent the rest of the lesson with bright blue spots as Lily glowed with pride. Professor Slughorn had been most pleased with her antidote.

Defense Against the Dark Arts class was the best out of the lot. They were still practicing Patronus Charms. Professor Vane was determined to do so until most of the class could perform the highly advanced charm.

"Now remember, happy memories," he called over the head of the chattering crowd. Wisps of silver shot around the room and a small rabbit darted around the room, only half complete, before fading into mist.

"Excellent!" Professor Vane cried enthusiastically, clapping the back of the student who had done it. "Concentrate on happy memories!"

James fidgeted, eyes closed. Happy memories… he thought back to a few days ago. The image of Snape doing a series of high kicks while screeching made the corners of his lips curl. He raised his wand, his eyes still closed.

"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, opening his eyes. This time, it wasn't just silvery sparks or wisps of smoke that shot from his wand. A massive form erupted from it, cantering on slender legs. Students paused what they were doing to stare silently at the animal as it darted through the air. James couldn't make out what it was. He caught glimpses of horns, large eyes, hooves…

The animal slowed to a walk and moved toward him on legs that made no sound on the marble floor. Wide, expressive eyes focused on his own eyes. The animal snorted softly, tossing its rack of antlers. The stag closed its silvery eyes as he reached out a hand. It dissolved before he could touch it.

Suddenly, a strange noise pierced the air. James whirled, wand held out, before he realised what it was. Professor Vane was leading the students in a round of applause. James caught the eye of Lily and winked.

She looked simply furious.

* * *

Days later, James was still boasting about the fact that he was the first to successfully manage the Patronus Charm, though several other people had managed it, including Lily.

"He thinks he's so special," Lily muttered one day in Defense Against the Dark Arts, eyeing James in disgust. He was crowing to his friends while his stag cantered around the room. Mary was standing next to her, face screwed up as she tried to think. She whacked her wand on the desk and it promptly set the desk on fire.

"I mean, even Stebbins has managed it," Lily said, still eyeing James resentfully. He winked at her and she turned away in disgust. "No offense meant," she added with a wince to Mary, realising how rude it had sounded.

"None – taken," Mary said through gritted teeth, alternately trying to put out the fire and stomp her smoldering robes.

Lily's silver lynx prowled around her as she glared at James, her arms crossed over her chest. A bear charged past her and dissipated into mist before reaching the wall.

"I can't do this," Mary puffed in frustration.

"Happy memories, Mary," Lily said sarcastically. Mary gave her a nasty look and muttered the spell again, looking hopeful. A jet of mist shot from her wand, whirling through the air before disappearing. Mary let out a hiss of frustration.

"That was better," Lily offered. Mary sighed. James's stag ambled over to Lily, sniffing at her lynx before peering at her.

"Oh go away," Lily snapped, waving the stag away. Nothing of James Potter's was going to get near her. The stag snorted softly then cantered around the room once more. "It's as arrogant as he is," Lily muttered mutinously.

Mary was whispering very fast under her breath. Lily turned to look at her. Mary's face was no longer screwed up in misery and confusion; instead, her eyes were closed, her face concentrating. She raised her wand slowly and Lily held her breath as if it might help.

"Expecto Patronum!"

In a burst of stunning silvery magnificence, her Patronus flew forth in all its glory.

Mary opened her eyes and stared down at the silver fish currently flopping around on the ground.

"I demand a refund," she said.

* * *

"This lesson's fun, isn't it?" Marlene said cheerily about a half hour later, crossing the room to Lily's side.

"No it's not," moaned Mary, thumping her head against her desk. "I hate this lesson."

Lily patted Mary comfortingly.

"Her Patronus was a fish," she whispered as an aside to Marlene, who choked.

"Are you serious?" she hissed back. "Well… mine was too, but… a fish?"

"It's not that bad," Lily said defensively. "Once it got off the ground it was nice enough."

Marlene tried valiantly to conceal her smirk but eventually she just turned around and snorted uncontrollably for a second. Mary moaned and thumped her head against the desk again.

"Why?" she said piteously. Lily patted her comfortingly again.

"What was your Patronus?" Marlene asked Lily interestedly as the bell rang. Lily bent over to pick up her bag, swung it over her shoulder, and walked out of the room, Marlene and Mary following her.

"A lynx," said Lily with a hint of pride.

"A pretty one at that," Mary said gloomily. Marlene sniggered and Lily shot her a reproving look.

"Mine was a barracuda," said Marlene, beaming. "Here, I'll show you," she added, pulling out her wand.

"Marlene," Lily started, alarmed, but it was too late.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Screaming students dived out of the way as an immense barracuda barreled down the narrow hallway, huge jaws snapping viciously. A little first year screamed shrilly as the barracuda's slashing teeth came within inches of him.

"Miss McKinnon!"

The three of them turned to see Professor McGonagall advancing down the hallway. Lily and Mary immediately tried to look innocent, which was difficult as Marlene was sniggering and staring after her Patronus.

"No magic in the corridors! Five points from Gryffindor!"

"But Professor," Marlene protested, but the older woman had already strode away. Marlene muttered rude things about Professor McGonagall under her breath the entire way to History of Magic, where they all promptly fell asleep once again.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Just in case you're (understandably) a bit confused that Lily's Patronus is a lynx now, it's because she's not in love with James and it hasn't changed yet. Sorry; I thought I should clear that up.**_

_**I'm really sorry about stopping at such a terrible point but my inspiration had run out. I couldn't think of how else to end it.**_

_**Thanks to everyone!**_


	29. Christmas

_**Author's Notes**_:_** Thank you very much for the reviews. I'm still a bit indecisive about when to end the story but thanks for your input!**_

_**Also, I've been thinking lately and I wondered what you think about changing the title of the story. Do you think **_**Lily and James**_** is a bit… cliché? I don't know…**_

* * *

The weeks passed slowly, or so it seemed to Lily. She went on her date with the handsome Ravenclaw boy; much to Marlene's distaste (she still hadn't discovered why Marlene was so annoyed). It ended well, but they mutually agreed just to be friends and kept a close friendship. James still wouldn't believe it and eyed the boy in the corridors, fingering his wand threateningly.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had mostly learned the Patronus Charm and silver animals kept charging down corridors as people showed off. In Herbology, they were finally done with Venomous Tentaculas, much to James's relief and Lily's sadness. In Divination, they mostly sat around while Professor Cassandra talked about the weather and occasionally made a prediction.

News of Muggle killings and sightings of the man they were beginning to call Lord Voldemort filtered in. A week later, a girl was pulled out of breakfast and informed her entire family had been found dead. She did not return to school. A boy vanished from the dormitories one evening and was not seen again, though the Ministry insisted that his family had pulled him out of school.

The weather grew still colder as Christmas approached. The day dawned with a chill hanging over the castle and two feet of snow lying on the ground. When Lily woke up, the room had been decorated overnight. Bits of mistletoe were strung up in the windows and bobbles hung from the ceiling. She could hear strains of song drifting from below. Mary had tied her hair back with a bit of tinsel.

"Happy Christmas!" she sang to Lily, bouncing on her bed. Lily grumbled and rolled over, pressing a pillow over her head.

"Go 'way," Lily moaned. The bouncing was making her feel slightly sick.

"It's Christmas!" Mary shouted, leaping on the bed with renewed vigour and ducking a pillow thrown from Clarice. Diana sat up and actually hissed at Mary before snatching up her small pile of presents and hurrying out of the room. Marlene muttered something rude and promptly began to snore once again.

"I need my beauty sleep," Clarice said sleepily, rolling over. Mary stared around at her sleeping roommates in astonishment, then picked up a random present from Lily's pile and chucked it at her.

"Wake _up_!" Mary insisted, aiming a kick at Lily, who sat up with a vicious glare.

"Fine, fine," she grumbled, grabbing her present and tearing it open. Inside was what seemed like infinite piles of Honeyduke's best chocolate. It spilled over her bed, several pieces falling to the floor. "Thanks, Marlene," she said in surprise, tearing open a packet and biting off a bit. It melted in her mouth. "Mmm," she said, breathing in the sweet scent with delight.

"Open mine," Mary said excitedly, tossing another parcel at Lily, who caught it just before it hit her in the face. Lily tore into the package and found Dungbombs. Lots of Dungbombs.

"I thought you might want them if…" she looked around at Clarice, who was snoring loudly, and lowered her voice. "If we decided to prank James again. It seemed to be a good way to get them out of the dormitory."

"Thanks," said Lily, smiling. Finally feeling rather excited herself, she crawled to the foot of her bed and lay on her stomach, staring down at her pile of presents and trying to decide what to choose. Mary bounced off to her own presents while Marlene grudgingly got up. Lily reached out and picked up a small parcel. She shook it curiously, not quite able to throw off the tradition that stemmed from her childhood. She smiled fondly as she remembered Petunia instructing her on how best to shake it and guessing what was inside.

She tore open the parcel to find a small note above a white box. She opened the note and unfolded it. She recognised the familiar script and her stomach did a funny leap.

_Lily,_

_Since this will be one of your first Christmases away from home, Mother insisted I send you a gift._

_Happy Christmas,_

_Petunia._

Her jaw dropped. Petunia never gave her gifts. This was very rare. Petunia couldn't fool her; her mother never insisted on sending gifts. She was of the firm belief that her daughters could make their own decisions. With fingers shaking with a mixture of trepidation and excitement, Lily opened the parcel to find what seemed to be a large box of fudge.

It was delicious looking, creamy and smooth. She reached out trembling fingers and picked up a piece, taking a tiny bite from the corner just in case Petunia had poisoned it. It was just as good as it looked. Lily found an odd lump in her throat and her vision seemed oddly blurry. She wiped at her eyes impatiently, then carefully placed the parcel on her bedside table. She admired it for a moment, folded up the paper, and placed it next to the parcel.

She returned to her dwindling stack of presents, though she glanced frequently at Petunia's gift. Next was a parcel that was patterned with snitches and broomsticks. She found herself smiling even as she tore open the package. She didn't have to guess who it was from.

The tag read 'James' in flowing script she had no doubt that he had commissioned Remus to write. Shaking her head, she opened it.

Inside was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. Three emeralds dangled from a chain, loops of intricate silver entwining them together. The chain was strangely slender and smooth in her fingers. She raised it to eyelevel, her mouth open.

"Wow," she breathed. It was gorgeous – but she couldn't accept it. She set it down very carefully on her bed. Though she loved it, she would obviously have to give it back. It looked to be extremely expensive. Still in the package was a delicate little bottle that was a faint shade of pink. She took the cap off and sniffed. Lilies. How cliché.

Perfume and a necklace. That was not the kind of gift people would normally give each other. This was the kind of gift a boyfriend would give.

"Oh James," she sighed, setting the crystalline bottle next to the necklace. She picked up the next parcel and, unable to help herself, shook it gently. It rattled very slightly. She opened it. The tag read 'From Mum and Dad – with love'.

It was a leather-bound book. She trailed a finger down the spine of the book. She opened it and smiled in delight. It was on the goblin revolutions. It was a book she had been meaning to buy for ages.

"Thanks," she whispered, closing the book and setting it next to Petunia's gift. She returned her attention to the pile – but it was a pile no longer. A single parcel sat on the floor, wrapped clumsily in paper. It looked particularly dismal set next to the festively coloured papers of the other parcels. She picked it up and something rattled softly from within.

The tag on it read 'Severus Snape'. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise. She reached to rip it open, then hesitated. There had been so many attacks on Muggleborns… Mary had been tortured… the girl whose entire family died… she shook off the ridiculous thoughts. This was Severus. This was her childhood friend. He wouldn't hurt her.

With renewed confidence she tore the paper from the parcel and opened it. Inside, her present gleamed and her jaw fell open.

"Oh, _wow,_" she whispered, trailing fingers across the smooth surfaces.

Inside the dismal looking box was a new, gleaming Potion kit. Labeled little bottles filled with fresh ingredients glittered next to a small, collapsible cauldron. A silver knife was inset next to a book titled _Potions: Everything You Need to Know About the Art of Potion Brewing._ A little brass scale sat beside it.

"Wow," she repeated. "Thank you, Sev," she whispered and a fresh wave of guilt swept over her. She had not bought him anything.

"Thanks, Lily!" Marlene called from across the room, startling Lily out of her reverie. She was holding up large package of Berty Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She enthusiastically ripped it open and dumped half of the beans in her mouth. Lily shuddered and looked away. Ever since a particular incident in fourth year involving a first year, a vomit flavoured bean, and James Potter, she could barely even look at the beans. Marlene ran for the bin a moment later and Lily rolled her eyes. She never learned.

Mary was squealing over her present from her boyfriend and Lily did her best to tune her out. She lay back on her bed moodily, trying to ignore Clarice, who was very loudly exclaiming (and glancing frequently at Lily as if expecting her to leap up and start duelling Clarice then and there) over her gift from James. All the girls had one. Lily supposed he was trying to get on her good side.

She closed her eyes, the sounds of girls chattering fading to a dull hum in her ears. She was thinking about Petunia's fudge and wondering if she had poisoned it when there was a loud crash and James Potter fell inside the door. His glasses were lopsided and almost falling off; he looked up almost in surprise.

"Hello," he said cheerily. The screaming started seconds later.

* * *

It took almost ten minutes for the girls to calm down.

"How did you get up here?" Lily kept sputtering, gazing at James as though he might disappear if she looked away. Each time he smirked and ran a hand through his hair. Clarice was absolutely convinced that James had come to sweep her off her feet and ride away with her into the sunset, and was most disappointed when she found that he hadn't.

Mary had fainted dead away, as she thought it was Mulciber bursting through the door, and Marlene had instantly leapt over her own bed, vaulted Lily's, and begun to beat James around the head with her broomstick before she realised who it was. Lily was rather glad Diana had gone, as she thought the girl would have probably leapt from her bed and fired off random spells at him. She would prefer no one blasted James down the stairs, much as he probably deserved it.

"How did you get up here?" Lily asked again, staring at James in astonishment. He smirked his infernal little smirk at her and she almost grabbed Marlene's broomstick and hit him herself.

"Flew," he said with a proud little grin. "It's really not all that hard. You just need to put a Silencing spell on the Caterwauling Charm then hop on your broom. Easy."

"I'm a Prefect," Lily said, still staring at James. "I should report you…"

James grinned and crossed the room in one easy step, wrapping his arm around her and easily lifting her. He spun her around until she was far too dizzy to even know where the door was.

"There," he said, laughing as they spun around the room and Lily smacked him around the head. "Now you can't escape."

"Put me down, you great brute," she protested, half laughing half annoyed. James laughed and deposited her on the window sill, where she promptly crossed her arms and stared at him once again.

Clarice was currently sulking in her bed with the curtains pulled around so that no one could see her. Mary was lying in bed, weakly fanning herself, while Marlene eyed James speculatively and tapped her wand against her thigh in a rather threatening way.

Lily sat and tried not to look too dizzy, though she kept swaying badly. When she thought she might be able to walk, she tentatively hopped down from the window sill and strode over to James, who was lying on her bed and munching on a Chocolate Frog.

"That's my bed," she protested. James grinned and reached out. Before she could leap away or perhaps curse him into jelly, he had pulled her down onto the bed with him. She fought back, shoving and kicking, but James had the advantage of being much bigger and he was strong from playing Quidditch.

"Jerk," said Lily, trying to catch her breath and sitting as far away from James as was possible. "If I shoved you down the stairs, do you think Professor McGonagall would be angry? I mean, it's only fair – he came up here without permission and I panicked. Reasonable enough, right?"

Marlene nodded enthusiastically, as did Mary. Clarice continued to sulk.

"I mean, it makes sense. I should do it," Lily chattered, trying to distract herself from the thought that James Potter was _sitting on her bed_ while munching on a Chocolate Frog and looking far too innocent.

"Ooh," said James suddenly, reaching for something. "This looks delicious."

She turned just in time to see him pop the lid off Petunia's fudge. Lily saw red.

With a little yell of fury, she bulled forward, knocking the container from his hands. With the unerring skill of someone who dealt with clumsy people regularly, Marlene reached out and caught it.

"Potter, if you even get near that again," Lily panted, seizing a handful of hair and yanking hard. He yelped as strands came out. "I will personally make sure you will never be able to taste anything ever again. Do you understand?"

He nodded, looking horrified.

"Now shoo," Lily said, making little gestures to the staircase. "Shoo, Potter, shoo."

James laughed and stood, walking toward the staircase. He almost made it.

Her tiny owl smacked against the window and Marlene reached over and opened the window. James paused and turned, looking curious. The owl fluttered inside and landed on her shoulder, deadly claws digging painfully into her skin. Well used to it, she ignored the pain and pulled open the letter. Lily would have given almost anything for what happened next to wait just a moment until James was gone.

"Whooore," said her owl from her shoulder, staring at James, who froze. Lily stopped, stunned with horror as her owl hooted happily. "Whooore."

"Shut up, Hermes!" Lily hissed at it, searching her pockets frantically for an Owl Treat. Clarice even poked her head around her curtains to look at the owl. Mary giggled awkwardly.

"Is your owl saying what I think it is?" James asked, staring at the owl as though he'd never seen one before. Lily went scarlet as her owl hooted once more, still staring at James.

"Whooore."

James choked slightly.

"He is," she admitted. There was a short silence in which James's gaze traveled from the owl, which hooted dolefully again, to Lily's red face, then back again. He promptly collapsed, absolutely crying with laughter.

"Oh be quiet," she snapped, hurrying forward with her owl swaying merrily on her shoulder. She shoved James down the staircase step by step as tears ran down his face.

"And don't say a word!" she shouted up the staircase behind her, in which stunned silence still prevailed. There was a half second's worth of silence, then the room exploded in laughter. Fuming, Lily stomped down the stairs after James, shoving him down each step as he sobbed incoherently with laughter.

* * *

The Great Hall was decorated with its usual twelve trees. Icicles hung from various places, mistletoe hovered in the air, the statues creaked out songs that they only knew half the lyrics to, snow fell from the ceiling, and Peeves the poltergeist zoomed around, cackling horribly as he dropped water bombs on students, pelted them with wizarding crackers, or spelled the air to spell rude words behind the person. In other words, it was a normal chaotic Christmas at Hogwarts.

The Christmas feast was deliciously decadent as always. Mary actually broke one of her teeth on a coin in the food and had to go to Madam Pomfrey to have it fixed. Lily was coerced into pulling a wizard cracker with James. It exploded and several live doves flew from it, twittering loudly. A large white mouse fell in her food and Mrs. Norris caused havoc by leaping on the table after it, falling in food and scattering pudding everywhere.

Professor Dumbledore had found a flowered bonnet that he wore atop his head. James had managed to put a sticking charm on a vulture-topped hat and stuck it to Snape's head so that he looked like Frank, the Head Boy's mother. Lily had only met Mrs. Longbottom once and had no desire to repeat the experience.

But as all good things must, the feast ended far too soon and students wandered back to their common rooms. Peeves followed the Ravenclaws back, bellowing rude lyrics after them and pelting them with wizarding crackers. The crackers exploded and for several weeks the castle was overrun with white mice and Mrs. Norris grew very fat indeed.

Lily found herself stuck in a corridor with James while the teachers attempted to control Peeves, who had picked up a bust of a bewildered looking wizard and was threatening to drop it on passing students. She sighed and tapped her foot against the ground, checking her watch occasionally. There was a loud bang and a chunk of marble flew down the corridor.

Lily and James retreated in alarm as shouts of fury rang in the corridor ahead. There was another much louder bang and what sounded like an explosion. Several more chunks of marble went skidding down the corridor, one landing very close to James. Deciding that discretion was indeed the better part of valor, Lily and James took off down the corridor.

* * *

They had only to run a short distance before the sounds of shouting faded behind them. Lily leaned against the wall and for lack of anything better to do, James leaned with her, admiring her hair.

"Look," James said suddenly, pointing above them. "Mistletoe…"

Lily's eyes widened and she looked up as well. James took a step closer. Her lips were parted slightly in surprise, her bright green eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and horror. He was only inches away… he could see every individual eyelash. He leaned forward slightly…

Lily raised her wand and pointed it at the mistletoe. It promptly exploded. James stood stock-still as flaming bits of mistletoe drifted around him, falling to the floor to smolder gently.

"If I ever kiss you again –and that's a very big if – it will be of my own volition," she said primly, tucking her wand back into her robes. "_Not_ because of mistletoe."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode off.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: I hope it isn't too bad…**_


	30. Chaos

_**Author's Notes**_:_** I'm really sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was pretty sick and actually collapsed, so I couldn't update.**_

_**I'm really nervous about this chapter…**_

_**To 'Happy': I'm very sorry you didn't like my story and thought Lily was 'somehow both boring and annoying.' I really would love some constructive criticism. Okay, you think she's boring and annoying. Could you please tell me why you find her so and what you think I could do to improve? Thanks!**_

_**To everyone who has stuck with the story so far, thank you so much! **_

* * *

Christmas Day ended in catastrophe when Peeves dropped a statue on a group of third years, exploded a corridor, stuck Mrs. Norris in a suit of armour, and set Filch's hair alight. The attacks culminated in Peeves dropping a bag full of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall one breakfast. Lily was still finding spiders in her belongings, and Marlene, who was deathly afraid of spiders, stayed up most nights, her wand in her hand and her head snapping around at any movement.

James and his friends had taken to following Marlene around, calling her Twitch, making little skittering noises, and making their hands into the shapes of spiders or bespelling the spiders to follow Marlene around, whispering her name. They only stopped after Lily threatened to owl James's mother and inform her exactly what her son was doing. James took this threat quite seriously.

Mrs. Norris, between the mice and the spiders, had a feast and was a bit more pleasant, as she was usually too stuffed to move. The result of this was that Filch patrolled alone and many mischief making students had far more success than normal. Most students had learned to keep their wand in hand when walking in the corridors for fear something would explode or someone would try to turn them into a canary.

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus excelled in such atmosphere. The school exploded into a state of rule-breaking so severe that Lily was on the verge of collapsing in a mere week.

"This is terrible," she moaned one day in Transfiguration. They were attempting to turn a fur coat into a coyote, with little success. James had done the best. His fur coat let out an occasional whimper. "Maybe they should appoint more Prefects… anything…"

"Regretting being a Prefect now, are we, Lily-Flower?" James said cheekily, using the name he only used when he wanted to annoy her. It worked. She raised her head off her desk and glared at him. He simply smirked back and flicked a bit of parchment at the head of a Gryffindor in front of him. The boy yelped and was silenced by a vicious glare from Professor McGonagall.

"No, I don't," she hissed. "It's only Prefects like me and the teachers that keep this school from imploding." Her chest was puffed out slightly and she looked quite pleased with herself. James sniggered and leaned over to Remus.

"Moony, would you say that that's true?" he said.

Remus blinked and looked up from his own fur coat. "Well," he said mildly. "I wouldn't say they stop the school from imploding, but they certainly are useful. It _is_ very amusing to make them run all over the castle in search of mischief-makers." He smiled very pleasantly and Lily glared at him. She turned around with a little sniff.

"If her nose was any higher in the air, she'd drown when it rained," Sirius whispered from Remus's side. James choked on his laughter and degenerated into a coughing fit. Professor McGonagall gave him a dark look and James tried hard to look innocent.

"What do you say I teach her a little lesson?" Sirius muttered. James bit his lip hesitantly and looked at Lily. She was watching Professor McGonagall attentatively, her back straight and head held high. She looked exactly like the kind of person James normally took delight in teaching a lesson. He sighed.

"As long as it isn't harmful," he said reluctantly.

_Sorry, Lily,_ he thought, watching her excitedly wave her hand in response to a question.

* * *

Lily watched Professor McGonagall demonstrate a spell with interest.

"Now," said their teacher, sweeping down the row to stare impressively at each of them. "I am sure I scarce need to impress the difficulty and importance of your NEWTs upon you, but as in every class, _someone,_" and here she gave James a dark frown. He immediately straightened up, grinning like a loon. Professor McGonagall sighed and continued. "Doesn't listen, I will go over it again."

"Your NEWT results will affect the rest of your life. It is far more important than even your OWLs. It will determine what job you will get, your pay, even what kind of life you live. It-"

One moment, Lily had been listening with interest, leaning forward slightly to stare at Professor McGonagall, the next there was a funny spasm through her body and she went stiff as a board for a second.

"Miss Evans, are you listening?"

Lily opened her eyes, blinked once, then focused on Professor McGonagall. She looked confused, then her mouth opened of its own accord and a voice that was hers, yet definitely _not _spoke. "No, you old harridan, I'm not listening. Your little speech is the most boring thing I've ever heard. If I ever have to listen to it again, I think I'll throw myself off the Astronomy tower."

For a moment, there was absolute silence. Students turned to gape at Lily, who clapped her hands over her mouth, looking horrified. Professor McGonagall looked confused. Before Lily could stop herself, she continued.

"And honestly, you old vulture, have you ever heard of baths?" Lily let out a protesting squeak and pressed her hand hard to her mouth, but her voice continued to speak. Professor McGonagall was looking rapidly angrier. "And you have all the manners of a pig. I would be more inclined to let Professor Cassandra teach Transfiguration than you, you talentless, no-brain _hack."_

Lily let out a kind of scream and covered her mouth with her hands, but to no avail. Students were still stunned into silence, staring at her in absolute astonishment. Sirius was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"I think," the voice continued with her mouth. "That you should just throw yourself in the lake and hope the giant squid comes to eat you."

Lily's eyes filled with tears and with a terrified cry, she sprang from her seat and rushed to the door. Professor McGonagall looked absolutely astonished and furious in equal measures.

"Detention!" she shouted after Lily. "For a month! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

Lily rushed down the corridor. The second she left the room her traitorous mouth stopped insulting her favorite professor, but Lily didn't stop. Her ears rang with Professor McGonagall's shouts and her eyes stung with tears. There was a lump in her throat that she couldn't seem to swallow.

With eyes half blind with tears, she rushed down the corridor, not paying any attention to her path. She hit something very hard and fell to the ground. Her head hit the marble floor and for a moment, she lay stunned. Then she blinked and looked up into the face of the one person she didn't want to see.

Severus Snape.

* * *

James watched Lily run from the room with a mixture of amusement and guilt. Professor McGonagall still looked shocked and angry. Students broke into whispers and murmurs, all the same thing: why would she do that? Was she snapping from overwork?

Sirius was sniggering rather nastily beside Remus, who looked as though he were restraining a smile. Peter was grinning and James elbowed him. There was no need to attract attention from the teacher, who still looked quite angry.

The bell rang outside the room and students picked up their bags and filed outside, still whispering to one another. Within an hour, the rumor had spread across the entire school: Lily Evans had gone crazy. As the story passed and spread, embellished just a little each time, it eventually grew to where Lily had leapt from her seat, threatened the teacher with a knife, almost murdered a passing first year, and had ran from the room, cackling and chattering to herself.

Lily would have been horrified.

* * *

"S-Sev?" Lily said in astonishment before her brain had time to catch up with her mouth. She stood hastily and brushed off her robes. "Well, I'll be going now," she said, making to walk off, but Severus, whose keen eyes were honed by Potion making, reached out and caught her arm.

"You've been crying," he said. It was not a question.

Lily wiped at her eyes hastily. "Oh no, no," she said with an unconvincing smile. "Crying? Me? Definitely not."

She made to walk off once more but he frowned at her and spoke.

"It was Potter, wasn't it?" he spoke the name Potter as if it were the most disgusting word to ever pass his lips. His thin lips curled into an automatic sneer. "I don't know why you still associate with him – hasn't he proven over and over that-"

"If you're just going to complain about my personal life, shove off," Lily snapped, wiping a rogue tear away. She was in no mood to be badgered by her former best friend. Severus looked at her. He didn't speak, just watched her.

"Sorry," he said finally. Lily flinched as though it had been a whip cracking.

"You weren't sorry when you called me Mudblood," she muttered, pushing past him. "You chose your path, I chose mine." She hesitated for a moment, then stopped, though she didn't turn around. "Thank you for the Christmas gift," she said stiffly. "I'm sorry I didn't get you one."

Though he opened his mouth to respond, she had already stridden off. He closed it and watched her go.

* * *

James was in the Great Hall, eating lunch and watching Sirius juggle apples while Peter pelted him with bits of toast, much to the delight of several girls, when there was a loud scream. He turned to see Marlene climb onto the table, doing a strange cavorting dance around the table and kicking food into the faces of the shocked Gryffindors.

"Eeeee!" she screeched in one continuous wail. She did a high kick and James saw a massive black shape fly off her foot, eight legs wriggling absurdly. It flew across and hit a Hufflepuff in the face. The boy screamed and promptly ran, flailing in terror, in random directions before colliding with the Ravenclaw table.

James watched with interest as another student blasted the hairy tarantula off of her friend. The spider arched through the air. The Great Hall was absolutely silent as the spider flew from the Ravenclaw table to hit a Slytherin in the face. He squealed loudly and did a kind of panicked dance, flinging the spider to the ground. It skittered off, screaming students diving out of the way. Sirius, who was half blinded by the toast in his eyes, took the opportunity to attempt to try to stun the spider. Instead he set a fleeing girl's robes on fire and she screamed and ran. She tripped over a boy who was trying to catch the spider and set him on fire too. In a panic, he sprinted around in circles before colliding with the Slytherin table.

James applauded as the actual table caught fire. Screaming Slytherins scattered everywhere. A bit of food flew and hit Professor McGonagall in the face, much to her fury.

"Stop!" she shouted, trying in vain to put the table and panicking students out. There was what sounded like a miniature explosion and the Ravenclaw table began to float above a crowd of pushing and fighting students. Someone lost their head completely and began to blast the table with a few well-placed spells that broke one of the table's legs off.

Students ran everywhere, a few brave ones vainly trying to put out the fire. People slipped on food, fell over students that had fallen already, or took advantage of the situation to hex others for long ago fights.

In short, it was chaos.

* * *

James and his three friends were standing atop the Slytherin table, back-to-back, an amateur fort constructed hastily around them. Sirius was cackling and flinging spells with wild abandon, Peter was attempting to put his flaming hair out, and Remus was alternately making food smash themselves onto people and trying to put the fires out.

Professor McGonagall had just put out the Ravenclaw table when a student careened into the Slytherin table and set it on fire. James and his friends were forced to vacate the table. They leapt over the heads of the milling students and landed in a pile of broken plates and food. Sirius leapt up, absolutely covered in trifle, and jumped at a boy who fainted dead away.

"Blargh!" Sirius yelled, leaping at some other students. They screamed and scattered and Sirius, enjoying his new look, immediately set to causing chaos. As the fire was very strange in that it seemed as cold as ice rather than hot, but people were still panicking, James suspected they were just screaming for the sake of it.

"Shut up!" he yelled at them, but far from helping, it seemed to merely incite them into a greater fervor.

"What's going on?" said a shocked voice. James wheeled around to see Lily standing in the doorway, her mouth slightly open, seconds before she was mowed down by fleeing students.

Oops.

* * *

Lily woke up with murder in her heart and her wand in her hand.

She leapt from the bed, her wand pointed at the chair beside her and yelling war cries, only to see that it was empty. She blinked in surprise and lowered her wand. She couldn't help but feel slightly miffed. Every other time she was injured, James came to check on her. Strange…

She put her wand away and was halfway to the door before a voice spoke.

"And where," it said. "_Exactly_ do you think you're going?"

Lily turned to see Madam Pomfrey standing behind her, a frown on her face and a smoking potion in her hand. Without even pausing for thought, she ran for it, leaving a very surprised Madam Pomfrey far behind her.

* * *

Two minutes later, James was nursing a black eye and hair full of worms.

"What was that for?" he yelled at Peeves, who just cackled and zoomed off. He shook his hair out and a passing student shrieked as worms flew everywhere. Peter, whose mouth had been open as he chatted animatedly to a pretty girl, gagged and suddenly turned very green. He ran for the nearest rubbish bin.

James ignored the sound of sick hitting the bottom of the bin and rubbed his black eye, which was courtesy of Lily. She wouldn't believe he wasn't responsible for the chaos earlier no matter how much he insisted that he wasn't, and when he had told her flatly that Marlene was at fault… she hadn't been exactly pleased.

"I hate Peeves," Peter said weakly, raising his head. James nodded in agreement.

"Don't we all?" he said, watching Argus Filch stump by, yelling after Peeves. There was an explosion and several screams in the distance. James sighed and ambled off after the sound of chaos. Just another day at Hogwarts.


	31. Snow

_**Author's Notes**_: _**Thank you so much for the reviews!**_

* * *

The next day dawned brightly, flurries of snow drifting to a ground already covered by a foot of snow. The moment she realised what the little white flakes were, Lily jumped out of bed to watch snow drifting down.

"Good morning!" she sang, feeling very cheerful indeed.

"Says who?" Marlene grumbled, rolling over and finding herself nose-to-fangs with a massive tarantula. The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Marlene leapt to her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs.

It took twenty minutes to calm her down.

"It was huge!" she kept gabbling, slapping at the air around her. "Its fangs… its legs…"she gave a miserable little shudder. "Huge…"

Mary patted her consolingly on the shoulder, looking very sympathetic indeed. Lily shuddered slightly at the thought of the spider. It was not so much the spider itself that scared her as its massive fangs. She had been bit by a spider as a child and still carried a deeply abiding hatred of the things. Mary, on the other hand, positively adored them.

"They don't eat your food, they get rid of pests, they don't bother you unless you bother them," she always said cheerily, normally dangling a spider in front of Marlene as she did. "What's wrong with them?"

Marlene always screamed at this point, and she either tackled Mary or ran away, depending on how big the spider was.

"Today's lovely," Lily said cheerfully, bouncing around the room searching for her book on potion brewing. She stuck her head under her bed. "Mary, have you seen the book from Sev?"

"Which one?" Mary asked, performing a charm to turn her nails a garish shade of orange. Lily got down on her hands and knees and crawled under the bed, bumping her head against the top.

"The one from Christmas," Lily replied, frustrated. Deciding there was nothing but bits of dust and old sweets under her bed, she backed up, hitting her head as she went.

"Nope," said Mary.

"It had all my notes on Potions in it!" Lily said unhappily.

"Well, you'll just have to redo them, won't you?" Marlene said. She was in a very sour mood from her brush with the spider. Lily scowled at her.

"They were six years worth of notes," she said. "I can't 'just redo them'."

"Why would you put your notes in there anyhow?" Marlene snapped, firing up. "Bit of a stupid thing to do, really."

"Why would that be stupid? I was going to take that book to Potions," Lily said sharply.

"Girls," Mary said, darting between them and holding up her hands. "Calm down. No fighting." Lily and Marlene glared at each other from between Mary's outstretched arms. Lily sighed finally and stretched out a hand.

"Sorry," she said. "Truce?"

"It's fine," said Marlene, accepting her hand. "I'm sorry. That spider has me on edge…" she shuddered slightly and looked around the room as if expecting the spider to leap out. It didn't, of course, and she followed Mary and Lily down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Lily remained in a cheerful mood the entire way until she overheard Professor McGonagall talking about the Hogsmeade visit that afternoon.

"Oh no," she groaned, slumping over, her good mood quite forgotten. "How could I have forgot? Hogsmeade's today…"

"Cheer up," Marlene said sourly, accidently dropping her pumpkin juice, which splattered everyone around her. They gave her dirty looks and she made rude gestures until they looked away.

"Why would that make you angry?" Mary asked. Lily thumped her head against the table.

"Brings back unpleasant memories," Lily muttered.

"Ooh," Mary said excitedly. "Of kis-"

Lily let out a hiss like that of a cat's and Mary fell silent. "It'd be a terrible memory for you too if you had to… to…" she made a strange noise. "that prat. His mouth tasted like a cesspool." It didn't, of course, but Lily was in no mood to be kind.

"A cesspool?" the voice was shocked and wounded. Lily turned with a sight to see James with his hand pressed over his heart. He looked positively horrified. He staggered slightly. "I- I may never recover from that piercing blow," he said mournfully before giving a dramatic shuddering moan and collapsing.

Lily turned around and helped herself to some eggs.

James suddenly began to snigger furiously from his spot on the ground.

"What _now?"_ she demanded, turning to glare at him. Still sniggering nastily, he pointed up to where hundreds of owls were circling.

_No… no, please no…_

Her silent pleadings didn't help. Hermes alighted next to her and helped himself to her orange juice.

"Whoore," he said to her.

"Shut up," Lily told him. He hooted merrily and dipped his beak in the orange juice once more. She turned and gave James an icy look. He was positively convulsing with unkind laughter, tears streaming down his face. She could feel her cheeks turning red.

"You're a real git, you know that?" she said to Hermes, feeding him a bit of bacon.

He hooted once more.

* * *

Lily was almost dragged out of the castle later that day by Mary and Marlene.

"Come on!" the former insisted, pulling Lily along. "You need fresh air! There hasn't been a visit in ages!"

"Yeah," Marlene said. "I need some more Sugar Quills. Maybe we could switch James's Sugar Quills for real ones," she said contemplatively, taking a firm hold around Lily's arm and pulling.

The snow was thick on the ground when they finally got out of the castle. Filch was brandishing what looked like a long golden aerial and looking menacingly at every student who dared to leave the castle. When they finally arrived at the small village, the buildings looked like they belonged on a postcard, snow-covered roofs and carolers walking the streets.

"Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it?" squealed Mary. "I wish I could have come with Reg, but he's sick. Dragon pox, of all things."

"Pity," said Marlene.

They walked down the High Street, peering into fogged windows and squealing over interesting things. Mary insisted on dragging them into Gladrag's Wizardwear and they exited, staggering with the amount of bags. Mary skipped ahead, chattering and completely unaware of how heavy the bags were.

"Ooh!" she said suddenly. "Let's go into Honeydukes; I'm freezing."

Lily and Marlene, puffing under the weight of the bags, gladly agreed. They entered the shop, the sweet air swirling around them. They exited almost an hour later, Marlene vomiting slugs onto the ground from a bad sweet.

"Urgh!" a girl squealed from the other side of the road and Marlene gave her an evil look and spat a slug at her. Lily held Marlene's hair back as she vomited the slugs into a snow bank. She finally emerged, green in the face and wiping her mouth.

"That's disgusting," she croaked. "I'm never going into Honeydukes again. Never."

All of the girls knew she would, however. She loved the Honeydukes sweets far too much to give them up.

"What about the Three Broomsticks?" Lily asked after a few more minutes of wandering along the High Street. Mary and Marlene gladly assented, the latter looking as though she were ready to collapse. The bell on the door rang merrily as they pushed the heavy door open. The warm air gusted around them, enveloping them in a pocket of warmth. A massive man shoved past them, knocking Mary off balance. The sounds of raucous shrieks of laughter from inside were familiar and comforting.

"I love this place," Lily said.

* * *

The girls sat, sipping butterbeers. Several empty tankards lay abandoned around them. Mary hiccoughed slightly and slopped a bit of butterbeer down her front.

"Where's 'Merta?" she asked blearily, looking around for Madam Rosmerta and hiccoughing again. Marlene, who had a much stronger resistance to butterbeer, merely sipped hers serenely.

"I don't think you need anymore," she said coolly. "I told you that you shouldn't have tried that firewhiskey, but did you listen? No."

Lily listened to her friends bicker and took a gulp of her own butterbeer. A moment later, she choked on it and dissolved into a coughing fit.

"Oh, now look," said Marlene, peering around at Lily. "Now you've made her cough."

"Me?" Mary spluttered. "How on earth would I do that? If you ask me, it was you!"

Lily wheezed at them, but they paid no heed.

"I'll save you, Lily-Flower!" cried a gallant voice. James leapt out from behind a pot plant, taking care to strike a heroic pose before rushing over to Lily.

"No," she croaked out.

"Don't be silly, Lily," he said with a cheesy smile. "I'm here to save you."

"I'd rather… do it… myself," she managed to cough out. Before he could stop her, she put her wand to her throat and gasped out a spell. She straightened up, her watering eyes fixed on James. "What were you doing behind that plant?" she asked. He immediately put on an innocent smile that did not make her feel any better.

"Oh, no reason," he said airily, and before she could stop him, he leaned over to Mary and said in a very serious voice, "Did Clarice just say that the Chudley Cannons are terrible and should all die?"

Mary whirled around with a gasp. "You – you-" she struggled for a word terrible enough to describe Clarice. "Idiot!" she yelled and launched herself at Clarice, who had a second to look alarmed before Mary attacked.

"Run!" James laughed in Lily's ear and before she could stop him he had taken hold of her arm and was dragging her out of the pub.

"I need to pay!" Lily protested, looking back.

"Mary or Marlene will do it," he said, pulling her along. "You can pay them back at the school."

"But-"she spluttered, but James was still pulling on her arm and she contented herself with not being dragged along. They had just rounded the corner and turned into an alley when she managed to free one hand and reached over to James.

"Ow!" he shouted, clutching at his upper arm where a mark was beginning to redden. "You pinched me," he said in astonishment. "You _pinched _me. This needs punishment."

Lily took a step back, her eyes widening in horror. She turned and began to run, but James managed to tackle her and get his arms around her waist.

"Now," he cackled. If he had a mustache, he would have been twirling it. "The ultimate punishment: tickling!"

"James!" Lily protested, kicking at him, but to no avail. He had just lowered his hands when she suddenly froze. "James…" she whispered and something in her voice made him stop.

"What?" he said curiously.

"There's someone in the alley behind us," she hissed back and her voice went slightly higher. "They're just standing there. Watching us."

James stood sharply and turned, his hand finding his wand in his pocket. Lily stood beside him, staring into the darkness. A man stood at the end of the alley, his head slumped onto his chest. He was not moving at all. She swallowed slightly.

"H-hello?" she called out cautiously, hand pulling out her wand. At the sound of her voice, the man looked up and they could very plainly see the gaping wound in his throat that had killed him. He was quite obviously dead. Lily let out a stifled gasp and clutched at James's arm.

"Wha - how?" she whispered, her eyes fixed on the dead man. "Is he an Inferius?"

"I think so," James whispered back. His arm was shaking slightly in her hand. "Let's just back away slowly…"

At the noise, the man took a juddering step forward, then another. Lily let out a tiny squeak as his jaw fell open and a maggot fell to the ground, then curled up, squirming. At the noise, his head swung around to stare at her with dead eyes.

"Fire," Lily whispered to James. "We need fire."

"This is not the time to be getting cold," James hissed, taking a step back, his eyes fixed on the man in front of him.

"No, you idiot, Inferi fear fire!" Lily said angrily. The man let out a rattling, guttural moan and began to move toward them, faster than ever. "Incendio!" she shouted. A great jet of fire burst from her wand and the Inferius shrank back. She repeated the spell, advancing, and James joined her. The dead man was backed against the wall, the flames directly in front of him. One more spell and the flames engulfed him.

There was a horrible screaming noise and the man thrashed around frantically, staggering around even as flesh charred and fell to the ground. He opened his mouth wider than any living person ever could and let out one last horrid screech, then collapsed, already disintegrating into dust.

"Merlin's socks," James said softly. Lily suddenly gasped and he whipped toward her. "What?" he demanded. "Is there another one?"

"No… I was just thinking… There have been reports of Death Eaters using Inferi," she whispered. "And isn't the village awfully quiet?"

There was a stunned silence from James, then he whipped around. He would have sprinted off, firing spells randomly, if Lily hadn't seized his upper arm.

"We need to be quiet," she hissed at him furiously. "We need to sneak in and access the situation. We need to tell how many Death Eaters there are. And most importantly, we need to get a message to Dumbledore and maybe the Ministry."

"Good idea," he whispered back. "But how do we do that?"

She hesitated, uncertain. "There's a theory," she whispered. "That you can use Patroni to send messages. I've never tried it, but…"

"Brilliant!" he said enthusiastically. He raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!"he said. A stag erupted from the tip of his wand but it just dissipated. He frowned disappointedly. "This isn't easy…" he said.

"I never said it would be!" Lily said sharply.

It took them several tries to manage to get the spell to work, and even then her lynx's message was quiet and broken up.

"Go to Dumbledore," she hissed at it, making frantic gestures. "Go, go!"

The lynx seemed almost to nod in assent, then it sped off through the darkness, leaving silvery trails in her vision. She watched it go for a moment, then turned to James.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he answered grimly. She smiled slightly and took his arm. At his questioning look, she said, "Just in case we need to Apparate quickly. If we do, let's go to… er… Privet Drive," she said the first location that came to mind. "My sister is planning to move there," she explained.

He frowned. "I think I know where that is," he said slowly. "Stuffy sort of place? Very prissy?"

She grinned and nodded. "Exactly. Perfect for my sister."

* * *

They crept into the village as silently as they could. James was very conscious of the way that Lily held onto his arm and the way her body was pressed to his side. She was looking very worried and her knuckles were whitening around her wand.

"It's all right," James whispered. "I'll protect you."

She shot him a withering look.

"I'm not afraid for myself," she hissed. "I have warning and a…"she looked at him with eyes full of doubt. And fear. "guardian. Mary and Marlene are still in the village, though."

"Oh," James said. He hadn't thought of that. "Sirius, Remus, and Peter are too. But they'll be fine." He tried to smile. "They're very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I hope they're all safe," he heard Lily whisper as they crept through two buildings. Silently, he couldn't help but agree.

* * *

There was a strange feeling in the air as Marlene sipped her butterbeer and Mary hiccoughed weakly. It was the electrically charged feeling that you get as a massive storm approaches. Marlene didn't know why, but her hand was on her wand all the same.

The shopkeepers all looked uneasy too and patrons were beginning to leave the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta had been polishing the same glass for five minutes. She kept peering out in the street uneasily and Marlene could tell why. There was a hum of fear in the air.

Mary was quite unaware, and she kept slopping the very last of her butterbeer on her robes. She had very little tolerance to alcohol and the firewhiskey she had drunk was enough to make her quite tipsy.

Thunder rumbled outside – at least, that was what Marlene thought. Curious, she looked up at the sky. It was sunny, clear. There was no sign of a storm. She frowned in confusion. Why would there be thunder…?

Without even knowing why, not even knowing fully what she was doing, Marlene suddenly dived forward and tackled Mary.

"What the-"Mary began. A second later, the window shattered like crystal, spraying the remaining patrons with glass. Madam Rosmerta screamed, and she wasn't the only one. Shouts and screams were breaking out across the village as dozens of cracks rang out.

Jets of green shot across the bar, one hitting a mirror. It shattered, spraying Madam Rosmerta with glass. She dived behind her bar, still screaming.

There were guttural laughs from outside and another window shattered, spraying the inside with more shards of glass. Mary was quite still, whether with fear or shock Marlene didn't know – or care. Her wand was out and she had levitated the table into a sideways position in front of them so that it acted like a barrier.

"Mary, move," Marlene hissed, prodding her with her wand. But Mary was frozen, her eyes massive and mouth open in a silent scream. She wasn't going to move. People were marching out on the streets. There was a woman's shrill laugh as another explosion rang out. They were coming close. They would be inside the bar within seconds and Mary, who sat within a few meters of the door, would be their first target. There was only one thing to do.

Marlene gritted her teeth, gripped her wand more firmly, then dived out from behind the table and began to duel the Death Eaters for her and Mary's lives.


	32. Hogsmeade

_**Author's Notes: Thank you, everyone. I'm really exhausted so I hope I haven't made any mistake in grammar, spelling, or formatting. If you spot any mistakes, please tell me.**_

* * *

The village was strange, Lily noted as she and James crept through the streets like a pair of thieves. It was silent. There wasn't a single laugh or shout, as was normal. The snow drifted down silently, the only movement in the town. Then it exploded in movement and noise.

There were dozens of cracks and people in masks appeared from – quite literally – thin air. They heard explosions and the shattering of glass. There was a woman's laugh and another bang. They heard the crystalline noises as glass hit the ground.

James shouted something but she couldn't hear; her ears were ringing with the screams and bangs and shouts. A man in a mask turned and saw them. He shouted something and ripped his wand through the air in a motion that hurt her eyes. A jet of putrid purple light that she had somehow seen before flew toward them. Lily dived to one side, James to the other.

There was the tinkling sound of shattering glass again and a loud, mocking shout. Lily poked her head up to see Marlene standing in the High Street, her dark hair whipping around her with the wind of spells that missed her by bare inches. Her wand was slashing through the air and she was duelling as she'd never done before.

Several Death Eaters left off creating mayhem and havoc to converge on Marlene. She ducked a jet of green light, barely dodged a scarlet one, was missed by a purple one. The fourth jet of light hit her square in the chest.

For a moment Lily could see the shock in her eyes, her mouth forming a little 'oh' of surprise – then she toppled.

Lily wasn't aware of what she was doing – she dropped all notions of reason and sanity and sprinted out from behind her cover. Death Eaters were shouting in triumph, laughing and kicking Marlene's limp body, the next second they scattered as Lily bulled into their midst, her wand already slashing through the air. Several scarlet jets sliced through the air and collided neatly with the Death Eaters they had been aimed at. The victims collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

For one crucial second, they were stunned and disoriented – easy prey. Then they regrouped and several jets of green light missed her by inches. She heard James's enraged shout and saw one of the Death Eaters crumple.

"It's the Mudblood!" one of them shouted, pointing wildly at her. "Kill it!"

Green light flew toward her and for a moment, she couldn't move – she could only stare at her oncoming death. Then something heavy and warm collided with her, slamming her to the ground.

"Get down!" James bellowed. He ducked one of the spells, then another hit him in the face. There was a look of surprise on his handsome face for a bare second, then he collapsed on top of her. She was pinned to the ground.

"James!" she shouted, shoving futilely at the unconscious boy. His eyes were closed but to her relief he was breathing shallowly. His lips were slightly parted. "James, wake up!"

Death Eaters were closing around them, laughing at the anticipated sport.

"Come on, Mudblood!" one of them called, her voice piercing and cruel. "Come out and play!"

Lily's fingers curled around her wand.

"Sorry, James," she whispered. A second later, his limp body cart-wheeled through the air and landed in a heap on the distant ground. Lily was already running, ducking spells and leaping bits of charred wood and glass. Death Eaters were pounding on her heels, shouting in rough voices.

"Avada Kedavra!" the woman shrieked. Lily feinted to one side, then dived to the other, rolled, and scrambled to her feet. One of her knees was cut on glass littering the ground and blood oozed through her robes. Her breath was puffing out, little clouds of white coming out. She was gasping for breath and there was a stitch in her side. It felt like a knife had been jabbed through her ribs.

"Catch the Mudblood!" a man bellowed. "The Dark Lord wants her – dead or alive, he doesn't care. Kill her!"

Just then, as she turned the corner and sprinted up the street, a hand shot out of one of the doors and covered her face. Before she could do anything more then give a scream muffled by the grubby hand, she had been dragged back.

* * *

Remus had been perusing the catalogue for Dervish and Bangs with Sirius and Peter when there was an almighty explosion that rocked the building. Screams broke out and another bang rang out. There was the sound of glass shattering, then all the lights in the building went out.

There was utter silence and darkness. Remus couldn't see anything. He groped for something in front of him, his other hand pulling out his wand. He strained his eyes, searching for something… anything…

"Avada Kedavra!"

Remus gasped in shock and flung himself to the side as a sickening green light shot into the store, illuminating it briefly. By its light he could see Sirius and Peter, who seemed to be fighting.

_This is not the time to bicker,_ he thought frantically as he got on his stomach and crawled over to them.

"I want to fight – let me go! Let _go,_ Peter! Stop-"

"No," Peter snarled back, elbowing Sirius hard in the stomach. He doubled over for a second, clutching his stomach and wheezing. Then he threw himself forward and caught Peter by surprise. The boys tumbled backward, rolling over and over. Seconds later, the shelf where they had been sitting behind exploded. Remus reared back, his hand shielding his eyes. Shrapnel flew everywhere. A small slice opened on his hand and blood dripped down it, but he ignored it and began to crawl after Sirius and Peter.

"Hellooo," sang a woman's cruel voice. He could hear the crunch under her boots as she moved around. "Any Mudbloods here? Come out to play!"

Something in her voice made him shudder. Suddenly, the shelf in from of him simply melted into the ground, forming a simmering puddle on the ground. A woman was standing there, her face obscured by her mask.

"Why hello there," she said and reached for him. She grabbed him, wrapped an arm around his throat and tightened it. He choked and scratched at her arms, but she ignored him. "If there are any Mudbloods in this store, you have three seconds until I slit his throat and let you watch him die. One… two…"

* * *

Lily screamed and fought, managing to bite her attacker's hand. She spun around, one fist clenched. It stopped only inches from the man's face. With his grubby face, dirty, smeared glasses, bright blue eyes that seemed oddly piercing, and dirty-white beard, he was quite familiar to her.

"A-Aberforth!" she said in surprise. He grunted and looked at her.

"I heard a ruckus," he said gruffly. "My goats are afraid. What's going on?"

Lily hesitated for a second, then found herself spilling out the story. Of the Inferius, the Death Eaters, James and Marlene being hit, the shops being destroyed… she told him all of it and he listened intently, the firelight winking off his smeared glasses. When she was done, she paused, her shoulders shaking.

"We need to get back out there," she said in a determined voice. "We need to help. We can hit the Death Eaters from behind and run before they know who it is-"

"Whoa!" Aberforth said sharply, holding up his hands. "You can't just go gallivanting off and expect to be fine. You need to notify the Ministry even if they are a bunch of crackpot fools."

She scowled at him. "I'm not that reckless," she said. "I sent a Patronus with a message. One to the headmaster and one to the Ministry."

He looked at her for a moment and she gazed steadily back. After a second he nodded sharply.

"Good. At least you've got _some _sense in that head. Now, you need to stay here-"

"What?" Lily said furiously. "I am not a child."

"No," he said. "But what you are is sixteen. That's no age to be fighting Death Eaters. Besides, that old berk would never forgive me if one of his precious students got themselves killed – even if it was by their own stupidity."

She lowered her head and, apparently quite under the impression that he had won the argument, Aberforth stumped past and opened the door a crack.

"Looks like they've gone elsewhere," he said.

"I'm sorry," Lily said quietly. "But my friends are out there. So is a boy that I… he risked his life for me."

Aberforth turned around in alarm. "Now-"

But whatever he wanted to say was lost as Lily suddenly rushed past him, opening the door wide and bounding across the street. Aberforth stared after her furiously, watching as she faded in the distance.

"Fool," he said.

* * *

Sirius peered around the shelf. A woman's cold voice was speaking. She had one arm wrapped around Remus's throat, her wand pressed to his throat. It bobbed slightly as he swallowed.

"If there are any Mudbloods in this store," she purred, pressing the wand harder against his throat. "You have three seconds until I slit his throat and let you watch him die." She looked around the shop, smiling. Sirius had stopped breathing. "One… two…"

He looked over at Peter, who looked back at them. They needed no communication. Peter nodded slightly and pointed at her wand. Sirius nodded as well.

"Three!"

Her wand was just beginning to pull across his throat when two boys suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere, both of them roaring. Shocked, she stood frozen for one precious second. The next, her wand had flown out of her hand and the dark-haired boy had pinned her to the ground with his own wand. Her mask had fallen off.

Sirius stared down at the woman in hatred. She was pretty, in a cold sort of way. Her pale skin was stained with blood and her cheek had been cut. It oozed blood as she stared hatefully up at them. She had very fine brown hair that was matted and bloody in several places where her head had been cut by the glass. She tried to spit at Sirius.

"I don't recognise you," he said, staring down at her. "Could it be that Voldemort let a Muggleborn into his service?"

"No!" she hissed in a voice full of fury. "Never! The foul… the disgusting… no-"

"Oh shut up," said Sirius with barely restrained hatred. "Tell me your name."

She stayed silent, her fawn-brown eyes closing. Sirius gave a dark chuckle and stepped on her wrist. She gave a little gasp of pain and her eyes opened. He laughed. "Think that hurts, do you?" he said. She didn't speak, but just spat at him. He ground her wrist into the ground and she flinched in pain. "That's nothing. He must never have tortured you… you must be favoured… or simply not important enough for him to even deign to look at you."

Her eyes widened in fury. "You dare – you _dare_," she hissed. "I, who am most precious to him…"

Sirius laughed. "I highly doubt that," he said, taking the weight off his other foot and putting all his weight on her wrist. There was a sickening crack and she let out a keening noise. He laughed again.

"Sirius," Remus said in a hoarse voice. "Sirius, stop."

"But she hasn't told us her name yet," said Sirius, stomping down. She let out another weird keening sound. "It's very rude, you see."

He raised his foot. "Tell me your name. It can just be your first, I don't care."

She was silent. He raised his foot a little higher.

"Elizabeth," she answered shortly, turning her head away from him, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. He smiled and bent over her.

"That was too hard, now was it?" he said. He turned to Peter and Remus, both of whom looked slightly sick. "Come on," he said shortly. They left the store; Elizabeth's keening screams echoing behind them.

* * *

The only warning Lily had before the ground exploded from under her was a short laugh. Then it erupted and she was flung into the air, landing with an awful crack. She felt something snap in her arm and gasped. Tears sprang to her eyes but she clutched wildly for her wand. Her fingers fumbled over leaves and grass, sticks and stones, but no wand.

"Accio wand!" she said desperately, and to her astonishment, it worked - only it wasn't her wand that flew to her hand. There was a furious shout from behind her and she rolled over to see a furious Death Eater bearing down on her, shouting loudly and actually shaking his fist. "Stupefy!" she shouted. The spell hit him in the chest and he keeled over, mouth sagging and eyes slipping shut.

She scrambled to her feet, glass cutting her knees through her robes. She bent over the Death Eater and found her wand gripped in his hand. She grabbed it, then tapped her arm. There was a horrible crack and it went straight again. She stood up, looking around. The street was quiet. Glass littered the ground, sparkling in the wintry sunlight. There was a crunch and she whirled around, her wand jabbing forward.

Sirius's eyes widened and he looked down with only his eyes – and with good reason. Her wand was pressed into his throat.

"Er…" he said.

"Sirius," she said in relief, lowering her wand. "Where were you? Are you all right? Have you seen Mary or Marlene?"

He grinned and held up his hands. "Not so many questions! We were in Dervish and Bangs but a Death Eater came in. We got her name. We can report it to the Ministry and they'll find her." He seemed very proud of himself. "We're fine; through Remus has a bit of a sore throat. I haven't seen anyone but Death Eaters and Madam Rosmerta."

Lily slumped in relief, though there was still a niggling worry. What was the colour of the spell that hit Marlene? She couldn't remember. Everything was so confused and blurry. Would Marlene be okay? Tears stung at her eyes.

"I – James – he got hit," she whispered. "Marlene took a spell to the chest… I don't know if they're okay…"

For a moment, Sirius looked stunned, his mouth falling open. Then he roused himself and gave an easy grin.

"They'll be fine," he promised. "The Death Eaters would recognise James. They wouldn't want to kill a pureblood. Don't worry, Lily." He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I… it's just that he flung himself on top of me to protect me," Lily said in a croaky voice and to her horror her eyes were very wet. "If he dies it will be my-"

"Stop it," Sirius said sharply. "Even if old Jamesie did d-die," his voice trembled almost unnoticeably on the word die. "It's how he would have wanted to go."

Lily wiped furiously at her eyes. "How? Protecting someone he liked?"

Sirius grinned. "No. More like saving his Lily-Flower so that – in his mind – you would forever be grateful and remember him."

Lily shook her head. "Trust him to be so-"

Before she could get out another word, there were a dozen earsplitting cracks all around them. She didn't hesitate, but dived forward and tackled Sirius to the ground. He yelped in pain as his head cracked against a rock.

"STUPEFY!" a dozen voices roared and Lily pressed herself more firmly to the ground. She could hear Sirius's heart thundering in his chest. "You!" a voice shouted and a rough hand seized her shoulder and rolled her over. She let out a yelp as he shoved his wand into her face.

"Hey!" Sirius shouted. The next second, ropes shot out of the man's wand and bound him, more ropes snaking over his mouth. His eyes widened and he toppled, wiggling helplessly.

"Sirius!" Lily shouted, but the man grabbed her roughly.

"I should have known," he spat down at Sirius. "That a Black was involved. I always knew you'd go the same way as your brother."

Sirius's eyes widened. The man turned back to glare at Lily.

"I don't recognise you," he said, his rough hand turning her face so that he could minutely examine her. "I suppose Lord Voldemort's got new recruits and they thought they'd have a fun outing. Monster," he spat at her. Literally. She wiped her face off and glared at him. There was a strange sizzling noise and a terrible burning smell. They turned. Sirius was on the ground, smoke wreathing around him as his ropes burned. There was a small snap and one loosened.

"Stun him," the man snapped. A short woman nodded and aimed her wand at Sirius.

"Stop!" Lily shouted angrily. "We're not Death Eaters! We're Hogwarts students!"

"And I suppose you just snuck out of the castle for a romantic stroll?" the man snapped, turning on her. She glared at him, her temper rising fast.

"No," she answered. "There was a Hogsmeade visit."

"Boss?" the woman said, staring at Sirius. "He's burning out. Should I Stun him? He might really be a Hogwarts student…"

"I don't care," the man said. "Take out all possible risks." He turned back to glare at Lily and pointed his wand at her.

The short, dark-haired woman nodded and pointed her wand at Sirius.

"Yes sir," she said.


	33. Silence

_**Author's Notes**_: _**I'm really sorry about not updating but I broke my computer and lost the last of my pre-written chapters. Since I had to update this from a friend's house and my own computer is ruined, it's going to be quite a while before I can update. I'm really sorry.**_

_**I hope that this chapter is decent. Thanks for reading!**_

* * *

The world was dark and quiet.

That was the first thing that occurred to Lily. She was floating in blackness and silence. She could see nothing but a slight red glow.

_Am I dead? _She wondered. The moment the thought came to her she dismissed it. The Ministry wouldn't kill a pair of sixteen year olds… would they? She frowned and resolved to see if she could speak.

"Mmm," she managed to say, her traitorous lips stiff and barely capable of speech. "Mmm," she said again.

"This one's waking up," a cool woman's voice said. She heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the ground.

"Mmulp," she managed. "'Elp."

Something hard poked her in the ribs and she moaned and rolled over.

"Help," she croaked. "Go 'way."

"Make up your mind," said a slightly amused voice. She felt a stinging sensation on her cheeks and distantly realised he had slapped her cheeks. She resolved herself to curse him into jelly when she could move again.

"Sod… off," she gasped out. There was a rough chuckle from above her.

"Get up," the man said, prodding her in the ribs once more. She muttered something very rude and rolled over again, then let out a yelp. Something that burned like fire, yet was icy cold and wet was pressing against her stinging cheeks. The woman strode over to hetr and bent down.

"Open your eyes," she ordered Lily. Lily considered it for a moment. On one hand, it would give her remarkably annoying antagonizers what they wanted. On the other, she really did need to see. She compromised and lifted one lid a fraction of an inch.

"Good," the woman said. "Now open the other one."

Lily considered it again, then decided her need to see what was happening was more important than petty defiance. She opened her eyes, then immediately closed them again. The world seemed to be comprised of white and it _burned._

"Keep them open," the woman ordered. Lily bit back the urge to tell her something very rude and slowly opened her eyes again. It burned painfully but she resisted the urge to close them again. She blinked a few times and the world slowly slid into focus. She sat up, the white sheet covering her sliding off.

"What the-"she said in shock. She was still in Hogsmeade, only witches and wizards bustled around her, all of them wearing Ministry of Magic robes. A large sort of clear pavilion had been constructed on the snow and dozens of still bodies were lying around her, each covered by white sheets like she had. She scrambled to her feet, her hand flying to her wand, only to find it wasn't there. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she whirled to see the Asian woman holding it out.

"When we Stunned you," she explained without a trace of consternation. "It fell. I picked it up."

Lily took her familiar wand back without a word. "Where's Sirius?" she demanded sharply. "Where are James and Marlene? What did you do with them?"

The dark-haired woman hesitated. "We took the Black boy in for questioning. He's at the Ministry now… James? James _Potter_? We haven't seen him." Lily stared at her in horror. The short woman consulted her list, red-nailed finger tapping its way down the rows. "Ah," she said. "Here - Marlene McKinnon?"

"Yes," Lily said hurriedly.

"It says she's currently being treated by the school nurse, one… Madam Pomfrey, I believe. Her condition wasn't bad enough to warrant a visit to St. Mungo's."

Lily sagged in relief.

"Well, if you don't mind, I have work to do," the woman said busily before striding off. She disappeared into the mass of workers seconds later and Lily turned, wand still held ready in her hand. There was a strange odor hanging in the air. She sniffed curiously. It smelled almost like pork…

A second later her eyes widened in realisation and she gagged. There must have been more of the Inferi. Her stomach heaved and churned but she swallowed hard and turned around. The snow was stained with blood, charred flesh, glass, and chunks of wood from the shop. She put her wand away and began to trudge back toward Hogsmeade, ears pricked for any noises…

A bird trilled in a distant tree and she jumped almost a foot. Her wand was out within seconds. She swore softly when she realised it was just a bird. Shaking her head, she turned and strode toward Hogsmeade.

Her feet sank into the snow until she was buried to her knees. She wrenched them out and took another laborious step. She slowly made her way back into the village, step by labored step. The village was silent. Doors hung on their hinges, creaking softly as wind blew. Windows were shattered, the glass gleaming on the white snow in the weak sunlight. Something creaked in the distance as she slowly made her way through the village, calling out to James.

"James! James, are you here? James? James, is that you?" she called desperately. "JAMES!"

Her shout echoed around the silent square. There was a low noise from behind her and she whirled. A woman stood at the end of an alleyway, her head slumped to the side. Her limp hair hung to her waist and stuck to her rotting skin. There was a squelching noise as she took a step forward, low moan issuing from her throat. This time, Lily didn't hesitate.

"Incendio!" she shouted. The woman keened in agony as she caught fire. She thrashed around, inhuman shrieks now issuing from her mouth. She let out a last scream and collapsed, her fragile body already collapsing into dust. Lily shuddered in disgust and turned around.

"Accio James Potter," she whispered, though she didn't really expect it to help. It didn't, of course. She set off through the village once more, this time checking everywhere for Inferi or lurking Death Eaters. She found nothing – not even the inhabitants of the village. It was eerily silent and she found herself shivering as she moved down the High Street, calling to James.

"James! Jaaames!"

* * *

Everything was silent.

The quiet pressed down on him until he wanted to scream. But he couldn't move; he could barely breathe. He was just barely conscious of light filtering into his prison, though it illuminated nothing.

He could only wait, every nerve screaming for release.

* * *

Sirius hated silence.

He paced his tiny cell, his thumping heart the only noise. It wasn't really a cell, though. A lowly Ministry worker had been forced to give up his office for a while. Charms fortified every inch of it and the windows glowed with a blue miasma. He didn't dare get near them. The doorknob, when he tried it, had sent him flying across the room, his body shuddering with the electric shock.

He had been waiting for hours. There was silence, always silence. Nothing moved, nothing spoke. Outside, thousands of people could have been screaming his name but not one peep filtered through the charms on the door. The silence was what bothered him most. It was oppressive, stifling. He wanted to scream.

As he turned to walk the narrow passage he had been pacing, he accidently knocked a book off the tiny desk. It clattered to the floor with a loud thump, breaking the silence. He paused and turned to look at it curiously, a little frown wrinkling his forehead. He pushed another book off and watched as it hit the ground. Several pages tore loudly and the binding ripped. He laughed out loud at the sound and shoved another book off. It thumped to the ground and lay still. Silence returned.

He crossed the room and stood behind the desk. He prodded an inkbottle off. It fell and shattered both the glass and the quiet. He chuckled and kicked the chair over. The wheels spun squeakily as it hit the ground. With sudden wild abandon, he crossed over to the bookshelf and shoved it over. It tilted, slowly at first then more quickly. Hundreds of books flew everywhere, ripping and tearing. He laughed.

He kicked the desk over. It made a tinkling noise as inkbottles smashed, quills flew everywhere, parchment fluttered, and the drawers fell open with loud bangs.

It was several hours later when the Ministry witch sent to question him arrived. She had intended to unnerve him with the solitude. She did not expect to see him kicking the desk, splattered with ink, laughing like a mad man.

* * *

"James? Are you here?" Lily called raspily. Her voice was beginning to fail and she coughed miserably. The cold air stung her throat painfully, but she persevered. "JAMES!"

There was a small noise behind her and she whirled, wand extended and a spell on her lips. She paused. There was nothing there. The crystalline snow glistened under the sunlight, sparkling and making her eyes ache. There wasn't even a tree. Shaking her head in disgust, she turned and began to call again.

"James! JAMES!"

There was another noise. She whipped around, her wand aimed and ready. But there was still nothing.

_I'm going mad,_ she told herself. _Completely mad… though, it's not altogether unexpected…_

There was another strange noise. She listened carefully, ears pricked for any sound…

_Thump, thump. Thump. Thump, thump._

She frowned in confusion. What in the world would make those noises?

_Thump. Thump, thump, thump. Thump. _

"James?" she whispered. Her breath puffed out in little white clouds in front of her.

_Thump… thump, thump… thump…_

Then she realised exactly what the strange echoing noises were. She fell to her knees and began to dig furiously, snow freezing her hands and small sticks tearing at her skin, but she didn't stop until she had finally unearthed something. A hand… an arm… a leg… a head…

James Potter's face stuck out of the snow. His lips were blue and his face as white as the snow around him. He was shivering so much that he almost vibrated and he couldn't seem to move his fingers. All the same, he grinned up at her.

"H-hey," he croaked out, coughing. "L-Li-ly…"

With that, his head fell back and his eyes closed. He spoke no more.

* * *

Several hours later, they had been bundled up to the school, James wrapped very snugly in a blanket. He kept coughing. It seemed to be the only thing that kept him awake. His head kept tilting backward, eyes slipping shut, then he would let out rasping coughs.

"James?" Lily whispered during one of these spells. He opened one eye and looked at her. "What happened to you?"

He considered it for a moment, coughing once or twice. He was still shivering and his lips were a pale blue. "I'm not sure," he said finally. "I remember throwing myself at you and yelling… next second, I wake up under the snow…"

"That's odd," Lily said quietly. "It wasn't snowing."

They were silent for a moment, considering how James could have gotten buried.

"Maybe people kicked snow on me," he suggested, but with little conviction. Lily shook her head, her forehead furrowed doubtfully. Just then, Madam Pomfrey came bustling up and practically force-fed James some smoking potion that made steam pour out of his ears. She did the same to Lily, who felt as though her head was on fire. She coughed weakly.

"I hope no one was hurt," Lily whispered. Her throat felt as though each word was ripping its way out. She swallowed hard and leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling. Tears slid down her cheeks. "When I was looking for you, I saw someone face-down in the snow…" she trailed off, shivering.

"I'm sure the Ministry would be more panicked if someone died," James said with a false kind of bravado. He smiled, but it looked very fake. "Everyone's fine," he reassured her.

"I'm not a child," Lily said with a bit of irritation. "I don't need to be coddled and told everything's lovely."

James scowled. "I wasn't coddling you," he said.

"Yes," she said coolly. "You were."

He threw his hands up – at least, as well as he could with the blanket binding him.

"_Sorry," _he said, dragging out the word and making it as condescending as possible. She raised her fist, but just then, Marlene, who was lying in the bed adjacent, coughed. They fell silent and stopped, turning to look at her. Her eyes were darting under their lids; her forehead was wrinkled and she kept licking at her lips as though they were dry. She coughed again and they watched her quietly.

"Do they know what she got hit with?" James whispered to Lily. She shrugged slightly.

"The closest thing Madam Pomfrey can think of," Lily whispered back, careful to keep her voice low so as to not disturb Marlene. "Is some kind of Cutting Curse mixed with a Stunner. They're not exactly sure."

"Weird," James said, watching Marlene mumble in her sleep.

"Madam Pomfrey patched up her front – she was pretty badly slashed up – but she can't get her to wake up," Lily whispered. "But she reckons she'll wake up within a few hours. T-they still haven't found M-Mary." Her voice quivered and she bit her lip. "The Ministry thinks she got confused and wandered off into the snow, then got lost. I don't believe it. Mary has a good sense of direction. She wouldn't get lost."

"They'll find her," James said with utter confidence. "They have plenty of spells to find people that are lost. Tracking spells, the Four-Point Spell – even Priori Incantatem can help."

"I _know,_ James," Lily said patiently. "That's why I haven't leapt out of this bed and run out to look for her."

He blushed. "Oh," he said.

* * *

The school was abuzz with the news that there was a Death Eater attack. Two students were still missing: Mary and a Ravenclaw boy that Lily didn't recognise. Lessons had been stopped and Aurors patrolled the halls, their wands out and their heads snapping around at every noise.

Lily wanted to burst out of the school and immediately start searching for Mary, but every single exit was guarded by jumpy looking Aurors. Filch had boarded up every single window and crack and he paced the school, Mrs. Norris at his side. Every single Muggleborn student was under careful observation and half the time an Auror stood outside the Gryffindor common room.

It was two days later and Lily was about to snap. There had been no news at all but the Ministry insisted that no news was good news. Lily didn't believe them. She spent most of her time in the girls' dormitories, sitting on her bed and staring out the window hopefully.

Marlene had woken up but she was very confused and couldn't even remember Lily when she went to visit her. Lily had spent hours talking to her, but to no avail: she couldn't remember Lily at all. She spent most of that day crying.

Lily spent a lot of time crying now, or so it felt like it. She had tried several times to sneak out of the school but she was always caught. She felt more alone than ever. She even missed Sirius's taunts and James's constant attempts at flirtation. James was still in the hospital wing and Sirius spent most of his time with James, as did Remus and Peter.

Most of all, she missed her friends.

* * *

Lily strode out of the common room, her head held high and a confident look on her face.

_Look like you know what you're doing, _she told herself as she passed the patrolling Auror. _Don't look uncertain or hesitate. You are confident._

The Auror looked confused as Lily passed, but she didn't say anything. Lily increased her pace as she walked until she broke into a run. She crouched down by a wall, poking her head around the corner. No one. She stood and broke into a sprint.

Her footsteps echoed in the silent corridor. No students were out of bed after night anymore. She relaxed as she ran down the corridor, her feet pounding on the floor. There was no one at all…

"Hey, Lily!"

She let out a shriek of shock at the sound and whirled around, her wand pointed at the interloper, her heart thundering in her chest. James halted a few feet from her, grinning stupidly.

"You – you," she sputtered, clutching at her chest and sitting down heavily. "James," she said in disbelief, staring at him. "I thought you were in the hospital wing!"

"I was," he said with a proud little smile, puffing himself up. "But I snuck out."

"James," she started. "You could have internal injuries! You could be sick! You should go back-"

"You want to find Mary, don't you?" James interrupted, smirking at her. Her mouth fell open.

"I – yes, but-"

"Well, let me help you," James said. They spent a moment staring at each other, Lily's mouth still open in shock, James still smirking.

"You can get me out of this school and find Mary?" Lily said in a suddenly sharp and business-like tone. He nodded. She stood. "Come on, James," she said. "Let's go find Mary."

He grinned at her and pointed at the statue that they were standing beside. She hadn't even noticed it. The ugly hump-backed witch leered at her, her frozen stone face staring straight at Lily. She shivered slightly.

"Ladies first," he said with a little bow.


	34. Tunnels

_**Author's Notes: Let me just say: I am SO sorry about the wait.**_

_**I know, it's been two months since I last updated. Let me explain: I, being stupid, managed to break my computer and lost everything. I recently got a new one but haven't been able to write at all. I'm really sorry about that. I finally got some time to write, so here's another chapter.**_

_**IMPORTANT: Again, sorry, but I will definitely not be able to update the story every three days anymore. I'll try for at least once a week, but I'm not sure I can.**_

* * *

The tunnel was cramped and tight; the air so dusty and dank that Lily sneezed countless times only to be shushed by James, who seemed to be having a rather good time of it. Her back was cramping painfully from having to bend over the entire time; her head kept brushing the top of the tunnel, dislodging dirt from the roof and sending it into her eyes and hair.

"Is it much further?" she whispered unhappily to James, who was moving through the tunnel with such speed and familiarity that she was quite sure he had traversed it many times before.

"Not far at all," James whispered back, ducking to avoid a low-hanging root that sent dirt into Lily's face. She sneezed loudly, making James shush her. "And if you keep sneezing like that, the whole village will know we're here," he hissed back at her.

"I can't help it," she defended herself, wishing the tunnel wasn't quite so low. Her back was beginning to seriously hurt. James suddenly stopped dead and she nearly collided with him.

"What is it?" she inquired, rubbing a bit of dirt away from her eye.

In response he reached up and pushed. With a slight creak the top of the tunnel swung open and she realised that it was a trap-door. He clambered out, wriggling with some difficulty, then held out a helpful hand. She ignored it and pulled herself up.

"Where are we?" she said in a low voice, taking in her surroundings and pulling out her wand. James grinned and hopped to his feet, quite as though he hadn't just spent half an hour in a dusty old tunnel with no company but a crabby redhead. He spread his arms wide.

"Welcome to Honeydukes cellar," he said, helping her to her feet. "One of the many brilliant things we've discovered."

"And by we, you mean-"

"Sirius, Remus, Peter and I," James finished for her, pulling out his own wand and bending over. With another small squeak, the trapdoor swung back closed, nearly indistinguishably from the dirty floor.

"Lovely," she said with a grimace as a rat squeaked from the corner and sent dust puffing up into the air. "Well, let's go, shall we?"

James held out his arm for her to take and looked so pitifully expectant that she sighed slightly and took it.

"Let's go," he said with a cheeky smile.

* * *

James watched Lily peer into the window of an abandoned shop, red hair dancing behind her as she darted across the street. The quarter moon overhead illuminated the narrow street and lent her an almost ethereal look as she flitted in and out of empty stores.

"We work well together," he ventured, watching her open the door to a shop and peer inside, then shake her head and dart back out. She glanced back at her as she strode in front of him, green eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

"Only out of necessity," she said, almost sadly, as he checked a broken-down old house. "If it weren't for the situation, you would try to flirt with me and I would argue with you. It would never work."

They both knew she wasn't just talking about their partnership of sorts, but James persisted.

"How could you know that? We're working perfectly fine right now," he argued. She frowned for a moment and considered it for a second.

"Well – well it wouldn't last!" she said fiercely.

"Only because you're determined it won't," he returned. They had stopped dead in the middle of the street; her facing him with her hands on her hips and him folding his arms across his chest. They were both equally determined-looking.

"Come on," Lily said after a moment. "We're supposed to be looking for Mary, not fighting."

He watched her turn away and hurry off, biting his lip but filled with a strange sense of satisfaction. He was fairly certain that this argument he had won.

* * *

The room was tiny, dirty and small, filled with boxes and barrels. A wooden staircase led to the house above and Mary pressed herself into the furthest corner from the stairs. Anyone coming down them would have a hard time spotting her amidst the boxes.

She could hear rough voices overhead and the occasional snatches of conversation or curses. She had sneaked inside a small family's home when the sound of Death Eaters drew close. She had escaped them several times, both times barely managing to deflect spells and jinxes and run fast enough to escape. This time the Death Eaters had tracked her into a dead end. The small street on the outskirts of the village was almost abandoned; the Death Eaters would almost certainly find her.

A family was hiding in the top most level, unaware of her presence. Two Death Eaters who had escaped the Aurors wandered aimlessly about the streets, occasionally pausing to set fire to a rubbish bin or melt a sign.

Mary had constructed a barricade in front of her made of random boxes and every other thing she had managed to find. There was nothing to do but hide and wait.

So she waited.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Lily mumbled. "We're never going to find her!"

James's grim silence was all the confirmation she needed that he privately agreed with her. She kicked a rock irritably.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" she hissed, knowing that she had no reason to be angry with him, but not particularly caring either. James shrugged rather than answered and continued to check inside the abandoned and eerily silent houses on either side of the road.

"We shouldn't have been so stupid and reckless," she muttered, holding up her lit wand to illuminate a dark alleyway. "We should have told a teacher or brought one along. This was really, _really_ stupid and dangerous."

"A teacher would have stopped us straight away; you know that as well as I do," James said from behind her. She could almost feel him rolling his eyes.

"Yes, well it would have still been more productive than wandering around an empty village for an hour in the middle of the freezing night!" she said miserably, shivering in a chilly wind that whipped her troublesome hair around her face, obscuring her view and making her wish she had thought to plait her hair.

"Stop whining," he said absently, poking his head inside a dilapidated old shack. She chose to ignore him.

"Why are we so idiotic?" she wondered idly, pulling her hair away from her face and following James down the street. A sign hanging crookedly above creaked slightly in the wind.

"Because you want your friend back and I'm a Marauder! How could I resist?" James said, laughing slightly. The sound echoed in the empty streets as the wind whistled through the buildings, making a chilling shrieking sound.

"Why do you lot call yourselves Marauders anyhow?" Lily asked him.

"Oh… er…" James said, running a hand through his hair. "No reason, really," he said with a quick and rather falsely jaunty smile at her, but she was not fooled.

"Right," she said, unconvinced, but noting that he seemed nervous and storing the information away for further consideration. James sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair again, not even seeming to notice what he was doing.

"This isn't really very effective," he said, raising his wand to illuminate a shadowy corner. The bushes swayed, making Lily whirl around, her wand pointed at it. A rat squeaked and darted off, making Lily jump. She shook her head in disgust and turned back.

"What else can we do?" she said, shivering in the biting wind. He shrugged glumly.

"Keep looking," he said helpfully, turning his head left and right so quickly that it made Lily's neck hurt just watching him. Somewhere in the distance, a dog howled mournfully, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Thank you for that stunning revelation," Lily snapped. James held up his hands in surrender.

"No need to be so cranky, Evans," he said. "I'm only trying to help."

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "I know," she said in a defeated voice. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"Worried," James supplied. She nodded.

"Very," she replied.

* * *

Mary pressed herself more firmly into the ancient crumbling brick wall behind her, her wand clenched in her sweating hand. Her heart thundered in her chest, seeming inordinately loud in the silence. She listened, but the only sounds were the thumping of her heart and the soft whimpers of a child in the top floor. Someone shushed him softly as outside a man called mockingly to the woman accompanying him and was greeted by raucous laughter. There was a loud bang as the woman sent a rubbish bin slamming into one of the houses on the other side of the street, making someone overhead scream loudly.

There was a silence; a thick, tense, terrified silence that Mary felt she could have cut with a knife. The Death Eaters outside seemed to be listening just as keenly as the family overhead. Mary gripped her wand tighter, preparing herself inwardly.

There was a short laugh outside, then the woman's high voice shrieked a spell. There was the roaring sound of fire and someone above her screamed despairingly. Mary flinched, feeling the damp of the crumbling brick behind her pressing against her skin. She tried to sink even lower to the ground but it didn't work.

A baby began to cry upstairs as the fire crackled threateningly. There was a broken sob from overheard and laughter from outside. Mary looked around frantically. If the house had caught fire, she would be forced to leave the house. If she left the house, she would fall right into the welcoming arms of the Death Eaters. Honestly, Mary wasn't sure at all that she didn't prefer burning to death than to be caught by Death Eaters. Mulciber's sickening face seemed to swim in front of her and she swallowed back bile.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are!" the woman's voice sang from outside. "Come on, filthy Mudbloods, or you'll be roasted to a crisp. We won't hurt you… that badly." Her companion laughed uproariously.

Someone overhead began to sob in earnest. Mary could hear the fire now. It was crackling loudly and smoke was beginning to seep down the stairs, making her throat itch. She pressed her sleeve to her mouth, fighting the urge to cough.

Outside, the woman laughed.

* * *

"James!"

Lily's voice was shrill and shocked. He whirled around, wand at the ready, to see her pointing into the distance. From her tone he expected, at the very least, to see some sign of Mary, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What?" he said, half angry, his heart thundering and looking around as if expecting a Death Eater to spring out of nowhere.

"I think there's something on fire," she said anxiously, peering at a distant street. "And considering Mary's knack for attracting trouble, I think we should-"

The rest of her words were cut off as something exploded. A fireball rose lazily from the street, smoke billowing around as screams broke out.

"MARY!"

James turned to see Lily sprinting toward the explosion, screaming Mary's name.

"Hey!" he shouted after her. "You can't just go running off; it's dangerous! HEY!"

She ignored him, streaking down the street and turning a corner, disappearing from view. Cursing under his breath, James ran after her.

* * *

The house was burning.

That was the one thought registering in her mind as she coughed and hacked and dragged herself painfully slowly towards the stairs. Her eyes were watering, her throat was burning, and she couldn't breathe. The family above was screaming in terror now.

She realised dimly that she was going to die unless she did something and sacrificed something very precious. She took a deep breath and immediately regretted it as the smoke stung the back of her throat. She closed eyes so that she would not have to witness it and ripped the sleeve of her expensive designer robe that she had bought with the money from her birthday. She whimpered slightly but continued to tear until a sizable chunk was hanging limply in her hand.

"A-Aguamenti," she coughed out, pointing her wand at the sad bit of cloth. Water soaked it and with fumbling hands she managed to tie the bit of cloth around her nose and mouth. She could breathe a bit better now but she was in no way safe yet.

She managed to pull herself to her feet, using the creaky wooden stairs. She climbed labouriously, still coughing but less frequently now. Her eyes swam with tears as smoke stung them. Overhead, the family had fallen silent now. She gritted her teeth and forced herself onward.

* * *

Lily ran through the streets of Hogsmeade, her heart thundering in her ears. Tripping over small stones and sticks, leaping fences and anything too slow to move, she sprinted on. There was a stitch in her chest and her breathing was laboured at best, but she pushed herself forward.

"Lily! Lily, come back! It's not safe!"

She could hear James shouting behind her but she ignored him. She was very close now…

Plumes of smoke rose overhead the little houses as another eruption shook them. Lily stumbled and fell, rocks scraping her hands, but she pushed herself back to her feet and ran on. She could hear mad laughter ahead and a chorus of screams.

She rounded the last corner and the full horror of the scene became apparent.

Three masked and hooded people were standing in the street, watching the buildings around them burn. Rubbish littered the cracked road and ash fell like snow. The houses on either side of the street were burning. People screamed inside of them as one of the Death Eaters raised her wand and sent another fireball into the air, laughing frenziedly.

Lily raised her wand but before she could do anything, something heavy and warm collided with her, knocking her to the ground. All of her breath rushed out of her as she hit the ground hard. Her assailant rolled off her with a small groan.

She scrambled to her knees, wand gripped tightly in her hand, and crouched, ready to run at a moment's notice, but she recognized her attacker a second later.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed at James, who was looking a bit dazed. His hair stuck up at odd angles and dirt puffed up in little clouds as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry," he said. "But I can't just let you go charging off into battle without me."

"Go back to the school," Lily whispered desperately. Behind her, bangs and screams rang out and she pressed herself into the stone of the shop behind her. "Get Dumbledore, get the Aurors! I'll try to stop them from murdering anyone, but you need to hurry-"

"I'm not leaving you," said James sharply, looking determined. She hissed under her breath and risked a glance behind her. There was a roar and the flames billowed.

"This isn't a discussion!" she snapped, launching herself to her feet. "GO!"

* * *

It was astonishing, really, how fast she could move when she was in danger.

Mary scuttled up the stairs like some odd insect, then opened the door with a flick of her wand. Flames surged towards her and she reared back, nearly toppling down the steps before catching herself.

"Aguamenti!" she cried, and the flames receded with a hissing crackle. She advanced, shouting the spell again and again, and eventually the flames died. She pressed the dripping wet cloth more firmly to her mouth and nose, then sprinted for the stairs leading to the upper floor. She leapt over an unrecognisable smoldering lump, nearly tripped over a still fiery beam, then took the stairs two at a time, almost tripping over her own feet in her haste.

Mary reached the top of the stairs and burst through the door, only to be met with a plain hallway that was lined with doors. She stared around in panic at the many identical doors, then flicked her wand at each of them in turn. With a little creak, they opened one by one.

In the last room, furthest from the street outside, she could make out the huddled forms of several people. She sprinted forwards and burst into the room, only to trip on someone's limp outstretched arm.

Her head hit the table in the corner and she fell to the floor; for a moment, her vision exploded in white stars and she lay stunned for a second, then she scrambled back to her feet. Her vision swayed and she staggered woozily, then everything cleared and she stumbled towards the unconscious forms of the family in the corner.

She heaved a tall man to his feet and turned. Pulling him as fast as she could, she dragged him down the hallway back to the door leading to the stairs. She grabbed the knob and yanked-

She fell back with a yelp of pain as the searingly hot doorknob burned her hand so badly that the skin charred and bubbled. She pressed it to her mouth, whimpering in agony, fighting not to scream.

_That's not normal,_ she realised as soon as her thoughts were somewhat close to coherent. _They must have done something…_

She was breathing in short little gasps as she tried desperately to pull the man back. Every time her hand even brushed his clothes she had to fight not to scream. She pulled desperately with one hand, the other sending stabbing, torturous feelings of pain every time she tried to move. It was impossible.

She was trapped.

* * *

Lily sprinted as quickly and quietly as she could, ducking around the corners of buildings until she was so close to the Death Eaters that she could hear the spells they cast, hear the woman's laughter. She knelt down, carefully poking her head around the corner of the little shop. She could see the three Death Eaters setting fire to the surrounding buildings, laughing.

Lily waited until the shorter man, who was the closest, had turned his back, then whispered a spell. He crumpled silently and Lily grinned triumphantly and turned to the woman, who was starting to turn around.

"Expelliarmus!" Lily hissed, flicking her wand at the woman. Faster than she would have believed possible, the woman whirled and blocked the spell. Lily barely had time to duck her own Disarming Spell before the woman sent a jet of fire at her, singing her face and nearly setting her robes on fire. The other man turned and started to advance on her. Lily backed up desperately, stumbling until her back hit the brick wall.

"Oh, you're a Mudblood from the school!" the woman said, laughing and deflecting a jinx from Lily with pathetic ease. "This will be fun, don't you think, Jugson?"

The man grinned at her, exposing extremely sharp teeth. Lily responded only with the dirtiest of looks, an extremely rude insult, and a disarming spell. The woman merely laughed again, the fire's light reflecting off her mask.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Lily ducked and responded with her own spell. The Death Eaters had not expected her to react so quickly and the woman yelped as the blaze of fire missed her head by centimeters, charring her frizzy hair. She screeched in fury and the man turned to look at her. It was all the distraction Lily needed.

She shouted a spell and sprinted forward at the same time. The man let out a yell and clawed at the sticky net covering his face. Lily shoved past him and slammed an elbow into the stomach of the woman, who doubled over, wheezing.

She was halfway across the square when she collided with something large and heavy. Her head hit something hard and they both fell to the ground. She could hear a small groan.

"Oww… Lily? Wha-"

"I thought you went back to the castle!" she said in astonishment, staring at James. For the second time that night, it seemed, James had got in her way again.

"I sent a Patronus."

"Get the Mudblood first!" one of the Death Eaters shrieked from behind them. James blinked and looked over her shoulder at them.

"Are those-"

"No time to talk now!" she cried, leaping to her feet and yanking him up. "Run!"

And they ran. They didn't get far.

* * *

It seemed to Mary that she had two options. One: she could sit here, moaning about her hand, and die a painful, fiery death, or two: she could get up and try to find a way out.

She chose option two.

She wrapped her hand in white bandages with a muttered spell and with another one, managed to rouse the unconscious man. He let out a hacking cough and rolled over to vomit onto the ugly beige carpet.

"Listen, your house is burning down, your family is unconscious, and there are Death Eaters outside," Mary said bluntly, kneeling by his side. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

He looked up at her, stunned.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Sorry if it's not very good. I tried. **_

_**Thank you all so much for putting up with my idiocy.**_


End file.
